Sammie Rae: Second Year
by SciFiNutTX
Summary: Yes, Sammie Rae is back by demand! This fic takes place a few months after the kidnapping, nearly a year after they’ve adopted Rae. Dean and Sam need to establish their roles with Rae, and deal with something that’s taking kids and drowning their parents.
1. Ch1:Wrapped Around Her Little Finger

Yes, Sammie Rae is back – by demand! This fic takes place a few months after the kidnapping, nearly a year after they've adopted Rae. Dean and Sam need to establish their roles in raising Rae, and deal with something that's taking kids and drowning their parents.

Tona, you're the biggest SR fan out there I think, so this is for you!!

Okay, the beginning is a little risqué, but after that it's all about Rae. If that bothers you, sorry! But the toned down version just didn't have the impact I wanted.

**Sammie Rae – The Second Year**

**Chapter One**

**Wrapped Around Her Little Finger**

It was dark and cool outside, and dark and warm inside. Check that, it was hot and wonderful. Dean breathed heavily, a fine sheen of sweat coating his body. The woman under him groaned with pleasure. He smiled, wanting to make her do that again, when his phone went off.

Her fingers dug into his arms. "Ignore it," she panted, her legs wrapped around his waist tightening. The tune emanating from his phone stopped, but it started again almost immediately.

Concerned, Dean rolled away and grabbed his phone off the hotel room nightstand. As he feared and expected, caller id read 'Sam.' He thumbed it on. "What's wrong?"

"Dean, I'm sorry, but she won't settle down for me." Sam sounded slightly panicked, which was enough to send Dean scrambling for his pants with his free hand.

"What happened?" he demanded. Dean glanced at the glowing dial of his watch. "Damn, is it that late?"

"Yeah, I was trying to get her to bed, but she keeps saying something about the voices. I don't know what she means," Sam rushed to say.

Insistent hands pulled at his shoulders. Dean shrugged them off with a cold glare over his shoulder. "Put her on," he told his brother.

Some shuffling noises preceded Sam's voice calling out to Rae. "Daddy?" He could barely make out her breathless voice over the phone.

"Rae? Is something wrong, honey?" Dean heard his voice go up every time he spoke to her, but he could not help it. He read somewhere that happened with almost everyone when they talked to babies. Rae wasn't a baby, but maybe that said something about how Dean thought of her. It was psychological and totally not his fault, at least that was what Sam said that one time he voiced his concerns about it.

"Uncle Sam doesn't do the voices," she sniffled into the phone. "Are you going to read to me tonight?"

Dean glanced down at his watch again. "I can be there in about fifteen minutes, okay? Can you put up with Uncle Sam not doing the voices for that long?"

"Dean!" The naked woman at his back called, sounding angry.

"Daddy, where are you?" Rae asked innocently. "Who was that?"

"Just an interview, honey," Dean replied, spotting one of his shirts tossed across a chair. He scooped it up, pulling it on easily while only dislodging the phone from his ear temporarily. "I'll be there soon. Tell Uncle Sam you can watch tv until I get there."

"You tell him," she replied and he heard the distinctive sound of a phone being thrown and caught.

"Dean?" Sam's voice blared through. Dean winced, he had been listening so hard to catch what Rae said the difference was like screaming into his ear. "I wasn't trying to interrupt your, uh, evening. I didn't know she meant voices in the story, I can try it again."

"Nah, that's okay, Sam. We were done anyway," Dean lied, finding his overshirt at the foot of the bed. He pulled it on, scanning the floor for his boots. "I can be there in fifteen."

"You sure, Dean?" Sam asked, though Dean imagined his brother sounded relieved. "I mean, you haven't exactly been, ah – out – in a while."

"I meant to be home an hour ago, Sam. It's no problem." He spied his boots near the door, where he kicked them off earlier. "Fifteen, Sam, and let her watch her shows until I get there." He thumbed off his phone, stuffed it in his pocket.

"Hey!"

Dean turned back to face the still naked woman in bed, her cheeks flush. "Sorry, darlin', got to go." He reached back for the doorknob, grasping and turning it in one action. "Family business."

As Dean closed the door, he felt a surge of relief. "Not doing that again anytime soon," he muttered, stomping across the parking lot. "Should have been home hours ago." He felt guilt at leaving Rae and Sam alone for so long. Even though he spent most of his time with them, Sam still hadn't learned some of Rae's quirks, especially her nighttime rituals. Hell, half the time Sam fell asleep before he even finished reading to Rae. No wonder his brother couldn't remember to do the voices.

Dean chuckled to himself as the Impala roared to life around him. It wasn't like he never did those voices for Sam when they were kids. He guessed that was one more thing Sam just didn't remember. It took an effort not to speed on the way back to the motel, where Rae and Sam waited for him. He nearly vibrated with raw excitement as he approached the door. Grinning, Dean thought about how they couldn't get along without him for even a couple of hours. He pushed open the door.

Sam waved at him, pressing a finger against his lips. Confused, Dean stepped into the room. He looked around but there was no sign of Rae. Sam pointed down at the floor, where Rae was zonked out on the carpet.

"Damn," Dean sighed, shaking his head. "I was looking forward to seeing what was going to happen to Dorothy next."

Sam shrugged. "I guess I didn't need to call you after all," he whispered. "Sorry. If you want to go back…"

Dean glared at Sam. "Little late for that, Sammy." He reached down, scooping the young girl up in his arms. She still felt too small, too fragile. Dean wondered if she would ever look different in his eyes.

"Hey, man," Sam whispered close to his ear as he settled Rae into their bed, "I'm sorry."

Dean used a finger to trace down the side of Rae's face. "I'm not." He looked over his shoulder at this brother, feeling that smile Rae evoked from him spreading over his face. "Not at all."

Sam grinned back, shaking his shaggy hair. "Dude, you got it bad."

"Nah," Dean shrugged, feeling some heat in his cheeks as he returned his gaze to Rae. "I think I got it pretty good."

* * *

Whimpering woke Sam. He rolled over to check that Dean was dealing with Rae already. Occasionally his brother got so overtired not even Rae could wake Dean, which left Sam dealing with screams and irate neighbors and in the morning one guilty-as-hell Dean. None of that was ever pleasant. A little ice water usually guaranteed Sam just had to deal with the neighbors.

The whimpering from Rae increased in intensity and still no signs of life from Dean. Sam sighed softly, rolling out of bed to head for the door. He noticed an ice vending machine just around the corner from their room. As he approached the door, Dean's cell phone went off.

Sam paused, his hand on the doorknob. Should he answer the call or get the ice first? If he waited on the ice, he might wind up on a call with a screaming Rae and sleeping Dean. Nope the ice was more…

Dean groaned, rolling over, one hand slapping at the endtable for his phone. Sam let out a relieved sigh, hurrying over. He turned on the light, causing Dean to throw up an arm in defense.

"Nightmare," Sam said simply as he snagged Dean's phone. His caller id said 'Bobby.' As Sam punched the button to answer the call, Dean sat up and pulled Rae into his lap, her head on his chest.

"Bobby? What's up?" Sam checked the bedside clock. It was after midnight. Before Rae came into their lives, it was not unusual for Bobby to call whenever he damn well pleased. After Rae, however, lots of things changed. Hell, their whole world changed. And after Bobby looked after her for a week while they were both laid up in the hospital a few months ago, Sam noticed that Bobby made a point of calling during daylight hours, never at night unless it was serious. An after midnight call had to be extremely serious.

"Sam, is Dean with you?" Bobby asked, sounding breathless.

"Uh, yeah." Sam's gaze met Dean's. "He's right here. What's going on, Bobby?"

"You aren't anywhere near Lake Winnie, are you?"

It was late and Sam was woken from a pretty sound sleep. He ran a hand over his eyes, trying to focus. "Where?"

"Lake Winnie. It's in Minnesota."

"Uh, no. Should we be?" Sam asked, watching Dean soothe Rae by holding her tight and whispering in her ear. Why didn't that work for him?

"No!" Startled, Sam pulled the phone away from his ear. By Dean's shocked expression he knew his brother was just as surprised as he was. "I mean, ah, no, it's no big deal. I just wanted you two to know I'm headed that way and you don't need to worry about it."

"Okay." Sam felt wide awake now. This evening just moved from odd into strange.

"Okay. Good." Bobby cleared his throat. "Well, that's all I had to say. Bye, Sam."

"Yeah, okay. Bye, Bobby." Sam stared at the phone in his hand in disbelief before setting it on the endtable by Dean's head.

"What the hell was that?" Dean whispered, holding Rae tight. The anxious creases in her forehead were relaxing. Dean's touch was like magic with that kid.

"I don't know." Sam headed for his laptop, still setup on the small table in the room. "But I'm going to find out."

Dean stifled a yawn. "Great. Let me know in the morning."

By the time Sam pulled up a fresh search window, Dean was fast asleep with Rae cuddled up on his chest like a giant teddy bear. Speaking of which, where was Ted? Sam spotted the stuffed animal on the floor. He retrieved it, gently lifting Rae's arm to tuck the toy under. He tiptoed back to his computer. He typed in 'Lake Winnie.' A number of hits came back, all referring to a resort in the Chippewa National Forest in Minnesota. Sam switched to a news search.

Uh-oh. His eyes darted back to Dean's sleeping face. His brother was not going to like this.


	2. Ch2:On The Road Again

Since you SR fans are so awesome, I thought I'd go ahead and post the next chapter. Don't get too used to these quick updates, though!

**Chapter Two  
On The Road Again**

"Sam?" Dean's voice invaded Sam's attempt to bury himself in pancakes this morning. "I asked you a question. Did you figure out why Bobby called last night?"

Sam shrugged, shoveling more food in his mouth. He motioned with his fork to his full mouth. Dean sighed, rested his own fork on his plate to wait patiently for Sam to finish chewing. Sam knew his diversion was not going to work now, but he could be just as stubborn as his brother. Sam chewed slowly, making a production out of this bite while he composed the least risky way of telling Dean the truth. Or he could lie. Yeah, he could do that.

"He's going on a hunt," Sam said simply, opting for the bare minimum truth. Dean would probably kill him if he lied and his brother found out the truth later. Besides, they had a nice trust thing going on right now; Sam didn't really want to screw that up. Last night he had been trusted with Rae for four whole hours. That was a first. Okay, Sam was not anxious to do it at bedtime again real soon, but he did hope Dean would continue to trust him like that. He shoved another large forkful in his mouth, obstructing immediate conversation.

Dean reached across the table to snag his plate. Sam reached for it, but his brother was pretty quick. Dean slid the plate to the far side of the table. It wasn't quite out of Sam's reach, thanks to his long arms, but he was pretty sure Dean was not above making a huge display right out here in public. Knowing his brother, it could be excessively embarrassing. And considering how much Rae was imitating Dean, she would probably help Dean out. He had been waiting for her to start calling him 'mom' instead of 'uncle,' it was only a matter of time.

When the food in his mouth was the consistency of a milkshake, Sam had no choice but to swallow.

"What kind of hunt, Sam?" Dean asked, smiling pleasantly.

Sam eyed his plate across the table. When he reached out for it, Dean swatted his hand away. "Not sure," he admitted. "People are drowning in one of the lakes out there."

"Where?" Dean's smile broadened. Oh yeah, his brother had something planned if Sam did not cooperate. He noticed Dean nudge Rae under the table. Great, they were both in on it.

"Minnesota?" Sam motioned for his plate.

"You don't sound too sure of that, Sammy," Dean replied with that mischievous spark in his eye.

"Bobby said he was in Minnesota," Sam sighed, snaking his hand across the table.

Dean pushed the plate further away. "Doing what?"

"He didn't say," Sam insisted, motioning to Rae. Maybe she would… push his plate further away. "Thanks, Sunshine."

She beamed at him. "No problem, Uncle Sam."

"He might not have said but I have a pretty good idea that you figured it out." Dean tapped his fingers on the table, staring at Sam. "I take it that I won't like it?"

Sam shrugged, folding his arms over his chest. Maybe he could just order more food? He turned his head to search for their server.

"Sam!" And a slap on the table guaranteed Dean had his full attention. "What is it?" Dean's eye's widened. "Not another Wendigo?"

Sam shook his head emphatically. "No, Dean. Nothing like that. It's all just drownings and maybe a couple of disappearances."

"Maybe?" Dean leaned on his forearms across the table. "How do the disappearances fit in?"

Sam shrugged. "Bobby will probably let us know when he finds out." Part of him wanted to tell Dean. His brother's mind worked in strange and mysterious ways, sometimes drawing correlations that he couldn't, and Dean was right more often than Sam liked. "Can I have my food now?"

Dean shook his head. "Not until you tell me what you're hiding."

"That's it," Sam motioned for his plate again. "Come on, it's getting cold."

Dean nodded at Rae, who shoved Sam's plate closer. With a breath of relief, Sam pulled his food in and sliced off another chunk of pancake.

Sam was nearly finished when Dean asked, "So what makes you think those disappearances weren't just drownings?"

Sam swallowed his last bite down in a lump. After chasing it with a heavy dose of milk, he shrugged again. "Doesn't fit the pattern. All the drownings are of the parents."

He pushed his empty plate toward the center of the table. Dean's face clouded over, eyes boring into Sam. Oh, now what?

"So the disappearances are kids?" Dean asked, his voice hard.

Well, he gave that up entirely too easily, didn't he? What was wrong with him? There was a day when Sam could keep things entirely to himself, completely excluding Dean, for months, even years. What happened to that? What happened to him?

"I didn't say that," Sam replied evenly, trying to pull back his mistake. From the storm on his brother's face, he knew it was too late. The damage was done. They were going to Minnesota. "I don't think that's a good idea," Sam said, reading their future in the hard lines around Dean's eyes.

"What?" Dean demanded, throwing some bills on the table to cover their meal. He motioned to Rae, who scrambled after him out of the booth.

"Going to Minnesota," Sam argued, following on his brother's heels. "That's why Bobby called, he doesn't want us there. Well, he doesn't want you and Rae there." That much was pretty obvious.

"Right," Dean replied, sounding entirely too calm for Sam's tastes. "So we should go," he turned around, shielding his eyes from the sun, "south?"

Stunned, Sam stared. "Seriously? We're not going?"

Dean shot him a hard look. "If Bobby doesn't want us there, Sam, it's for a good reason. So? South? I'm ready to hit the road." He looked down at Rae. "How about you, kiddo?"

Rae beamed up at Dean. "Whatever you say, Daddy."

Dean grinned at her, running a hand over her head, as Sam watched in disbelief. They were actually walking away from a hunt? Not that he wasn't relieved, of course, but it seemed out of character.

They made good time that day, blasting music Rae could sing along to on the radio. When what Dean called 'cartoon music' wasn't playing, Sam and Rae played math games. Sam would call out a math problem, like two plus three, and Rae had to see how fast she could answer. Sometimes Dean would chime in with a wrong answer that she had to correct, delighting both of them. Despite the fact there was no genetic link between them, Dean and Rae were far more alike than they should be. It actually disturbed Sam on some level, because if that was true then it meant that Dean suffered from a tragedy just as severe as Rae's. Sure Dean lost Mom, but could that really equal Rae watching her parents eaten? Did that mean those years between their mother's death and when Sam learned the truth were even harder on Dean than he suspected? When they were kids Dean knew monsters were real, kept a handgun under his pillow to protect them, and was even being secretly trained by Dad. That could seriously fuck with a person's psyche.

"Sammy?" Dean's voice pierced his inner thoughts.

Sam turned his head slowly to regard his brother. Dean looked the same as always, but scars on the soul were never visible. "Sorry, you say something?"

"Yeah, I asked if you were ready to stop for the night. Dude, where were you?" Dean gave him a concerned look.

Sam glanced down at Rae, who was sound asleep leaning against his side. "Just thinking," he replied. "Things have really changed, haven't they?"

Dean did not answer right away. Then his brother cleared his throat. "Yeah, about that." Dean cleared his throat again. "Look, I know I didn't exactly… I mean, we never discussed, well, we did discuss it but it was more along the lines of 'Dean you're insane' and not 'Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.'" Dean shifted in his seat as he turned off the main road toward a town. "I was just wondering if…you know…you're okay with it now?"

Do what? Sam studied his brother's profile until Dean started giving him worried looks. "If I'm okay with what?" he asked, genuinely confused.

"C'mon, Sam," Dean groaned, "you're not the dense one."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Maybe if Sam hadn't been so lost in thought he could figure out what the hell his brother was talking about. As it was, he was seriously confused.

Dean pulled up to a motel. He shut off the engine as he gave Sam the strangest look. "Fine. All you had to do was say you're not okay with it. I'll figure something out." He reached for the door but his hand froze on the door handle. "I don't know, Sam. I can't choose."

"Dean?" Sam wished he could see inside his brother's head. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Dean met his gaze, forehead creased in the way that only happened when his brother was really, really worried. Dean's eyes dropped to Rae before returning to Sam. "What the hell do you think?"

Sam watched Rae until the pieces of their conversation finally clicked into place. "You're wrong, Dean," he said heavily after it hit him, "I am the dense one." He shook his head at his brother, unable to believe how this conversation went so bad so fast. "If you think you're going to take off on me with Rae, you'd better think again. I'll track your ass down."

The worried face was replaced by puzzlement. "Huh?"

"Dean." Sam rested a hand on Rae's side. If nothing else, at least it would prevent Dean from taking her and disappearing. "I like being an uncle, okay? I didn't get what you were asking because…" Sam shrugged. Why was it so hard to say that he couldn't imagine Rae not being around? "I like being an uncle."

A slow smile spread on Dean's face. He reached out and tousled Sam's hair. "Guess that means I can trust you to wait in the car." Before Sam could think of a good comeback, Dean was out of the car and headed for the office.

Rae made a funny sound, drawing Sam's attention. He hoped it was not a nightmare. She usually didn't get those in the car.

"Rae? Sunshine?" Sam rubbed his hand over her back. "We're here."

She lifted her head, bleary eyes not focusing on him. "Huh?"

Sam grinned at her. "I said we're here."

Rae's head turned slowly, but he suspected that she was still not fully awake. "Where's here?"

"No idea," Sam admitted. "I think Dean just picked a highway that he liked the looks of."

She sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Sounds like Dad."

"Hey, Rae?" Sam wondered if Dean's insecurities were shared by Rae. "You do know you're my favorite niece?"

She gave him the strangest look. "I thought I was your only niece."

Sam grinned at her. God, she was sharp. "Doesn't matter. You're still my favorite. And I'm sorry for not doing the voices."

Rae shrugged, looking out the window. "I just wanted Dad to read to me."

"Do you think, maybe, that I could read to you sometime?" Sam asked, wanting her to understand that he wanted her to be a part of this family as much as Dean did.

She gave him that strange look again. "You do school. Dad does stories." Rae held up both hands, balancing invisible weights in them. "It's fair."

Sam frowned at her. "I think Dean has the easier job." Then he thought to all the nights filled with screaming. "On second thought, I think I like my job. Forget it. He can do the stories."

Rae took two long blinks before shaking her head, brown locks whipping across her face. "O-kay." She looked out the window again. "What the hell is taking Dad so long?"

Sam considered fussing at her for saying 'hell' but he decided against it. That seemed more like Dean's job than his. He could be the bad influence. Yeah, actually that sounded like fun, and it would reflect on his brother, not on him. This uncle thing just sounded better and better.

"Rae? Want to hear a good joke?"


	3. Ch3:The Phone Call

**Chapter Three  
The Phone Call**

Dean stepped inside the motel office a little shaken up. Why did he allow his insecurities to control him like that? It was pretty obvious that the furthest thing from Sam's mind was whether or not they should have Rae with them. He recalled the way Sam held on to Rae, like he might reach over and snatch her away. Dean chuckled at his own stupidity as he approached the desk.

After securing a room with two beds, Dean headed back to the car. At a glance he could see Rae bouncing in the seat next to Sam. His brother liked being an uncle, huh? Well, maybe that meant Sam wouldn't mind looking after Rae for a few hours while he hit a couple of bars. Their cash funds were running low. As he slid back into the driver's seat, his cell went off.

Dean pulled out his cell as he started the engine. He did not recognize the number. "Hello?"

"Is this Mister Snyderson?"

Yeah, okay. "Yes, this is Snyderson. Who is this?" It could be one of Dad's contacts. He couldn't keep all those names straight.

The professional voice at the other end was, unfortunately, not exactly what he expected. "Sir, we are contacting you regarding a Mister Bobby Singer. You are listed as his emergency contact."

Panicked, he turned to catch Sam's eye. "Why? What happened? Where's Bobby?"

"Bobby?" Rae squeaked as Sam pulled her into his lap.

"Sir, I am calling from County General where Mister Singer is currently unconscious. He was found…" Found? Found? Dean's brain short-circuited about that time, tuning in just in time to hear, "…still unconscious."

"Where?" Dean repeated. "Where are you?" He motioned to Sam who dug through the glove compartment to retrieve a pad and pencil. Dean scribbled down the information, hoping he would be able to read it by the time they Minnesota.

He ended the call, staring at the damned contraption in his hand with pure hatred.

"Dean?" Sam's calm voice cut through his rage. "How about if I drive for a while?"

Stunned, Dean took a moment to process Sam's suggestion. He climbed out of the car on automatic, trading places with Sam. Numb fingers buckled Rae's seatbelt.

"Minnesota, right?" Sam asked.

Dean nodded dumbly. The car ride out of this town, wherever they were, was too sedate. Dean felt like flooring the gas pedal, ripping out of this accursed place and over anyone stupid enough to get in his way. Instead he wound an arm around Rae, who seemed to know exactly what he needed as she leaned against him. One of her hands patted his leg and, though he knew he shouldn't, he felt comforted by it.

* * *

Sam watched Dean and Rae out of the corner of his eye. He saw the fury drain away as she patted Dean's leg and leaned into him. If it weren't for the fact that something clearly happened to Bobby, and judging from Dean's scribble was in the hospital, he would smile at the influence Rae had over his brother. To see Dean melt for a little girl like that renewed his faith in human nature. Actually, it did a lot to renew his faith in Dean's nature.

He knew his brother was a soft touch. After all, how many kids with an absentee father and no mother were as spoiled as Sam was? Granted, they never had much in the way of money or things, but he always got his way. Last bowl of Lucky Charms? Sam's. Who decided what they ate? Sam. Even now, if Sam wanted them to go somewhere or do something, Dean went along. There might be some complaining and grumbling, but Sam almost always got his way with few exceptions. Of course, when there was an exception it was usually a big one.

A glance to his right assured Sam that the biggest exception to that rule was comforting her new father. "We should eat," Sam suggested, not remembering how long ago they had lunch.

"What?" Dean asked, turning his head slowly to the side.

"I said that I'm hungry," Sam said. "How about you, Sunshine?"

Rae looked up at Dean imploringly. "I am if you are, Daddy."

If it were possible, Dean would be a puddle in that seat right now. Sam clenched his jaw shut not to laugh. This wasn't the time or place.

"See a drive-thru, Sam?" Dean asked weakly. "We should eat."

"Coming up," Sam announced, seeing one just up ahead. Dean wasn't picky at all and there were only a few things Rae wouldn't eat. Sam suspected she would eat those too if he pointed out that Dean liked them. Once they had greasy bags of food, Sam headed back for the interstate that brought them here.

"I figure we'll be in Minnesota by daybreak if we drive straight through," Sam offered as they drove by a mile marker.

"Good," Dean snapped, cradling Rae's fries in one hand while he ate with the other.

"So…" Sam cleared his throat, wondering the best way to phrase his question. "What's going on with Bobby?"

Dean let out an aggravated huff. "They don't know. Frigging doctors."

"The hospital called you?" Sam asked, still fishing for information.

"Yep." Dean shifted in the seat. "Something about Bobby not waking up."

"Snyderson?" Sam asked, wondering if his brother would get the hint.

Dean shrugged, his mouth wide open for another bite of burger. "It was Bobby's idea."

"The name?" Sam asked as Dean took a huge bite. Dean nodded as he chewed noisily. This was certainly not teaching Rae table manners. Hell, they would have to actually eat at a table occasionally for that.

"He came up with it," Dean said around the food in his mouth. "Probably didn't want me to pick a rock star or actor."

"For what?" Sam persisted. God, his brother could be dense sometimes. "Why did Bobby need a name?"

He felt Dean's eyes on him long before glancing over to confirm the fact his brother was glaring at him. Dean swallowed hard. "His emergency contact, Einstein."

"Emergency contact. Right." Sam nodded to the road as he ate his own burger. Since when was Dean Bobby's emergency contact? Bobby didn't have family? He seemed to remember a brother or cousin someplace. He waited until the food was gone and Rae was sound asleep before trying again.

"Dean? Why did Bobby need you for his emergency contact?" Sam kept his eyes on the road as he asked, trying to sound perfectly casual.

"Why not?" Dean did not sound upset. "It's not like he had anybody else to put down."

"I thought Bobby had a cousin or something?" Sam asked, purposefully not looking over.

Dean snorted. "Like she would know anything about what Bobby might be hunting? Please."

"Good point," Sam replied with a nod at the road. Wait a minute… "She? Bobby's cousin is a girl? I didn't know that."

"Yep. She looks better in a dress, though."

Sam smiled, glancing over, but Dean remained somber staring out at the night road. "So you met her?" He waited until Dean gave a tight nod. "When?"

When Dean shrugged, Sam had his answer. When he was in school, of course. Duh. "Oh," he said softly. "Was that when this Snyderson thing started, too?"

"Yeah." Dean cleared his throat while Sam tried to wait patiently. "He just wanted someone in the business he could trust."

Sam nodded at the road. "Makes sense." It did make sense, a lot of sense. He wondered if they dared to put an emergency contact card in their wallets listing each other, under an alias of course, and Bobby. The only problem being if they were both involved and the alias did not match whatever current insurance card they might be carrying. There had to be a way to make that work. Rae was the biggest problem, of course. How could he possibly put down two semi-permanent names on her card when Dean's last name had to match hers? Then again, she didn't talk to anyone but them, so it might not matter. It wasn't until he noticed how late it was that Sam realized they had been driving in relative silence for hours while he ran numerous scenarios for the emergency contact cards through his head.

The lines marking the lanes were starting to cross. "Uh, Dean? Dean?"

He heard movement from the passenger seat. "Huh? Whassamatter?"

"Let's switch," Sam said, slowing down. "My eyes are starting to cross."

"You've been pretty quiet," Dean said as Sam pulled off the road.

"Just thinking," Sam said honestly. "I've been trying to figure out how we can carry emergency contact cards considering all the aliases we use." He stopped the car before turning to face his brother. "Now that we have Rae, it would be a really good idea."

"Yeah, it would," Dean replied, relief flooding his features.

Dean headed around the car before Sam could say anything else. Once they switched positions, Sam studied his brother in the wane light from the dashboard. Dean seemed more relaxed now than earlier. He wondered if it had anything to do with the fact Sam kept reinforcing the status of Rae as a family member.

"So you figure it out yet?" Dean asked as the car pulled back into traffic.

"Maybe," Sam replied, stifling a yawn. "I'll tell you about it in the morning."

* * *

Dean drummed his fingers against the steering wheel, his stomach twisting into knots. What the hell was wrong with Bobby? Was it supernatural or just a nasty knock to the head? Why wouldn't he wake up? He clutched the steering wheel tightly, as if it might escape from his grip.

"He'll be fine," Sam assured him from the passenger seat, still looking asleep. That big faker. "We'll figure out what's going on when we get there."

Dean wanted to believe it, he really did, but something kept him from taking Sam's words to heart. There was something wrong. It took more than just happenstance to take out Bobby. He guessed Sam felt the same way, otherwise his brother never would have said they would figure it out when they got there. Crap.

Okay, Bobby was in the hospital and they couldn't wake him. Parents were drowning. Kids had disappeared. There was definitely something going on and it had to be related. What the hell did Bobby get himself into? And did he do it protecting them?

Yes, Dean recognized that familiar feeling washing over him. It was pure unadulterated guilt. Great, first it was Dad and now Bobby. No, he decided, not Bobby. They would get there in time and Sam would figure it out. Nobody could figure things out like his little brother. Well, except for Bobby, but that was just because Bobby had so much more experience. Dad was probably better at it than anybody, but Dean didn't want to think about that right now. So he concentrated on the road and ignoring the guilt as best he could. Why the hell did he head out so far away from Bobby in the first place?

* * *

Sam pretended to sleep in the passenger seat while he watched his brother through slitted eyes. Dean was not taking the news about Bobby well at all. They lost way too many people in the past few years, so Dean having a negative reaction was not exactly surprising. Sam felt pretty anxious too, but the way Dean was acting you might think it was Rae or Sam in that hospital instead of Bobby. He decided that his brother had just been through too much and could not afford to lose even one more person. That alone would be enough to make Sam want to solve this case. The fact it was Bobby was cause for a whole new level of determination in Sam. They had known Bobby since they were kids; Sam used to call him Uncle Bobby. No, he didn't blame Dean for taking this so hard; Sam blamed himself for not taking it as hard. Had his priorities shifted? Was he a bad person for feeling some measure of relief that it was Bobby and not Dean? Was it terrible that he felt gratitude for Bobby heading out on this case and not wanting them there? That Bobby drew whatever-it-was out and not his brother?

He shifted in the seat, Rae's head a dead weight on his ribs. How could the kid possibly weigh more asleep than awake? Sam tried to move her to a spot that wasn't sore yet.

"How much longer?" Sam asked as Rae's head lolled back to rest between the seat and his side.

"I'm guessing we'll be there by daybreak," Dean replied, his voice flat and devoid of emotion. Great. His brother was emotionally shut down.

Sam let out a sigh. "How long have you been driving? Is it my turn?"

Dean's shoulders stiffened. "Nah. I'm fine."

Sam seriously doubted that, but driving was probably the best distraction for Dean. Rae was sound asleep so at least they wouldn't have to make any emergency stops until she woke up.

"Any ideas about what we're after?" Dean asked after a considerable silence.

Sam didn't even pretend to sleep any more. "Well, I doubt it's a coincidence that we're going to a lake and it's the parents of the missing kids who are drowning. We're probably dealing with something that likes water."

"Water wraith?" Dean asked, voice tight and controlled. Sam had the feeling that his brother just wanted to go out and kill something.

"Not sure. Taking kids isn't exactly a water wraith's style." Sam found his hand protectively wrapped around Rae's shoulder. When did he do that?

"Come on, Sam. You always have a theory. I'll even take a stupid one right now." Dean sighed at the windshield.

"Yeah, thanks," Sam huffed, rolling his eyes.

"Sam, I didn't mean it like that." Dean cut his eyes over briefly. "Come on, man. It's Bobby."

"I know, Dean." Sam stared out at the dark blur that represented trees along the interstate. "I know. We'll figure it out." When his brother didn't answer, Sam felt compelled to say, "We will."


	4. Ch4:Waiting Sucks

**Chapter Four  
Waiting Sucks**

Rae was sleeping so hard when they arrived at the hospital she barely stirred as Dean carried her inside. Her head rested against his shoulder as he settled in one of those damn visitors chairs. They had several monitors hooked up to Bobby and an I.V., but that was it.

"I've paged the doctor," the nurse who showed them to Bobby's room said to Sam, "he should be along shortly."

"Thank you," Sam replied quietly as Dean stared at Bobby's pale face. "Has there been any change?"

"I'm sorry, you'll have to wait for the doctor." She slipped out of the room before Sam could ask her anything else. Figured.

Dean moved his arm out from under Rae's legs, allowing them to dangle off his lap. He leaned back, making it easier for her head to rest on his chest without support, one arm still wrapped around her to hold her in place. She muttered softly in her sleep, but it didn't sound distressed. Sometimes she could go two or maybe even three whole nights without a nightmare.

"How is she?" Sam whispered, pulling up the other chair.

Dean motioned to Rae with a half shrug. "Not screaming," he replied.

Sam nodded, glancing around. "Not really the kind of place that would go over well in."

Dean snorted. "Let 'em try to kick us out."

Sam chose not to comment on that, figuring Dean would get his way if anything like that did happen. It wasn't even worth discussing. He decided that he didn't want to know exactly what Dean planned to do. That way, he couldn't complain about it.

The doctor on the early morning shift was a short guy, pretty young, maybe an intern. He seemed friendly enough and at least sounded competent.

"So what are you doing for him?" Dean demanded in a low tone.

The doctor spread his hands. "Sir, there is nothing we can do unless we know what is wrong with him. Physically, we can't find anything. No sign of infection or trauma. Unless there is something in his medical history?"

Dean shook his head. "He doesn't even get sick. Not even a cold."

Sam recognized Dean's automatic defense: deny, deny, deny. Well, in this case it was probably fine because he couldn't remember a time Bobby ever got really sick either.

"Then all we can do is run the I.V. and hope he wakes up." The doctor shrugged. "Look, I'd be happy to run some more blood tests, but we haven't found anything so far."

Dean's gaze went back to Bobby, some of the color draining from his brother's cheeks. Sam nodded to the doctor. "We'd appreciate it, doctor. Anything you can do."

* * *

It didn't take much convincing for Dean to leave the hospital. The sooner they found what Bobby was hunting, the quicker they could figure out what the hell happened. His motel room was too clean, not even an empty beer can lying around. Bobby could be too good at covering his tracks, Dean realized.

Sam discovered some research hidden under the mattress, not exactly Bobby's usual spot. Whatever. A lot of what they found did seem to point to a water wraith, which was Dean's first guess. Some scribbling in the margins of a couple of articles ruled that out. Apparently Bobby thought the same way he and Sam did, that the disappearances and the drownings were related. One word stood out, bold blocked letters and underlined: LONELY.

"A lonely water wraith?" Dean asked, pointing out the note. Sam gave him a glare that clearly said his brother thought he was a moron. Whatever. Dean shrugged, waiting to hear the amazing words of educated wisdom fall from his brother's lips.

"Maybe a poltergeist," Sam suggested.

Dean rolled his eyes. Seriously. The lonely water wraith made a hell of a lot more sense than that.

"Grindylows?" Sam asked, shuffling through printouts clearly made at a library, probably local.

"Grindylow?" Dean asked, turning to see if Sam was serious. "Dude, way too much Harry Potter."

Sam froze, his eyes locking with Dean's. "You've read Harry Potter?"

Uh-oh. "Rae likes some of the movies," he said quickly, relieved to come up with a good lie so fast.

Both of Sam's eyebrows arched up, his forehead crinkling with disbelief. "I don't think those made it into any of the movies."

"Sure they did," Dean replied trying to sound casual. He waved one hand while reaching for some of Bobby's research with the other. "The one with the water stuff."

Sam looked like he might say something else, so Dean lifted a couple of pages to hide behind. Rae sighed loudly from behind them.

"This is boring. Can we leave now?" she asked.

Dean glanced back over his shoulder. "What's wrong with you?"

Rae crossed her arms over her chest, hugging herself tightly. "It's creepy."

Dean nodded as he started to gather up Bobby's research. "Come on, Sam. We can go through this stuff in our room. Besides, we probably should get back to the hospital. Check up on Bobby."

Sam didn't say anything, but he grabbed the rest of Bobby's research and took what Dean had already stacked up. With a nod of that shaggy head, he told Dean to worry more about Rae. She did look a little freaked out. Dean swept her off her feet as her arms whipped out wildly, one fist connecting solidly with his nose. Yep, she was pretty freaked.

"Easy there, Sunshine," Dean admonished, smiling though his nose really smarted. "You might break something."

"I'm sorry, Daddy!" Rae shrieked, throwing both arms around his neck. "Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry."

"Hey, hey," he rubbed her back gently as he nodded to Sam to get the door. "It's okay. You're not in trouble." Dean fumbled under Rae's legs for his pocket with the keys. He tossed the keys to Sam. They hit his brother in the shoulder before clattering to the pavement. He waited impatiently as Sam shifted the pile of research to one hand in order to retrieve the keys. Maybe it was time Sam had his own keys to the Impala.

* * *

Rae did not like anything happening right now. Nothing. Nope. Not at all. It was completely, totally creepy. Bobby looked really weird in that hospital bed. He didn't move at all. He was way too still, like he was dead.

She asked to leave with Uncle Sam to get some coffee the next time he went. Relieved to be out of the room, Rae felt like she could ask her question.

"Uncle Sam? Can I ask you something?" Rae skipped along the hall, happy to stretch her legs. Was there a playground around here? Kids came to hospitals too, there should be a playground.

"Sure, Rae. Anything." Uncle Sam smiled down at her. She wanted to ask if it looked like rain, since he was so much closer to the clouds. Dad would laugh, but probably not Uncle Sam. "What is it?"

Rae glanced around to be sure no one could hear them. She motioned for Uncle Sam to come closer so she could whisper. He kneeled down beside her and leaned close. "I'm afraid Bobby is already dead."

He pulled back slowly so she could see his face. Uncle Sam looked really sad. "No, Rae. Bobby isn't dead, he just can't wake up." Uncle Sam's hands wrapped around her arms, warm and tight. "But Dean and I are going to figure it out. He's going to be okay."

Rae stared hard at Uncle Sam. "Can't we just leave?" she asked. "Before it happens to somebody else?"

Uncle Sam frowned. "We can't leave, honey. We have to help Bobby. Don't you want to help Bobby? I thought you two got along?"

Rae shrugged, studying her feet. "He's not Dad," she whispered.

She listened to Uncle Sam sigh. His hands shifted up to her shoulders and stayed there for a minute before he stood up. "Come on," he said gently. "Dean will be wondering if something happened to us."

Rae tried to follow, but Uncle Sam kept one hand on her head or neck the whole walk to the coffee area. He fixed two cups of coffee. She hoped that meant his hands would be full, but apparently Uncle Sam had some really big hands! He balanced two full cups of coffee in one hand and held the back of her neck with the other one. The thought of pulling away and running back to the room was fun, but getting to the room wouldn't be so she didn't. Instead Rae just walked with Uncle Sam. Her steps got slower and slower the closer she came to the room. She really didn't want to go back in there.

She sighed loudly as Uncle Sam pushed her into Bobby's room. When the pushing stopped, Rae looked up. Dad sat with his back to the door, just staring at Bobby. He looked so sad, so lost, sitting there all by himself. Rae felt guilty that she was so happy to get out of that room when Dad looked like that. She looked up for direction from Uncle Sam, but he seemed as surprised as she was.

"Dean?" Uncle Sam asked softly. "How is he?"

"The same." Dad's voice cracked. He cleared his throat. "Back already?" Dad sounded more normal now.

The hand Uncle Sam had on her neck shoved her toward Dad. A little confused, Rae went. The second she came close, Dad scooped her up and held her on his lap. He took his coffee from Uncle Sam.

"Take another look at that research," Dad told Uncle Sam. "The part where Bobby lists the drownings and the disappearances."

Uncle Sam sat near them. He pulled out a folder and flipped through some of the papers. He pulled one out to hand over to Dad. Dad glared. Between the coffee and her, both of his hands were full. Uncle Sam cleared his throat, looking it over as he gulped some coffee.

"Wait a minute," Uncle Sam said. His voice sounded too loud in the quiet hospital room. Hospital rooms shouldn't be quiet, or boring. The walls in here were too plain. The wall next to Dad could really use some colorful flowers.

"Dean! Look at this." Uncle Sam shoved the paper in Dad's face. Dad's arm loosened up enough for Rae to squirm out. Were her crayons in her bag? Rae dug down past her school books. The crayon box usually made its way down to the bottom. Didn't it like to brighten up boring rooms?

"Each of the parents were single!" She heard the paper crinkle. Aha! There were those sneaky crayons. Thought they could hide under her stupid reading book, huh? Math knew better than to hide her crayons. She liked math. Reading was kind of hard. Uncle Sam kept telling her that reading was just practice. Yeah, right. With Uncle Sam everything was practice, practice, practice.

"So?" Dad didn't sound as tired now. That was good. The big flower should go right in the middle. Ummmm…red. Yes, she liked red flowers.

"So? So that's what all the drowning victims had in common. Look at this."

A couple of blue flowers would look really nice beside the red one. Darn, the yellow didn't show up very well. Oh, well, that was okay. It looked more like a flower with a green stem and leaves.

"I'm looking, Sam. What? You thinking a lonely water wraith?"

Oh, nice. Now that was a really pretty purple flower. Bobby would probably like to see a few more of those when he woke up. Yes, one more just to the left would be perfect.

A big Uncle Sam sigh. "Dean, it's not a water wraith, okay?"

"So what is it, oh great encyclopedia of weird?"

Rae giggled. She liked it when Dad made up those funny names for Uncle Sam, especially when Uncle Sam made those funny faces. She giggled again.

"What are you laughing at, kid…do?" Dad's eyes widened when he saw her masterpiece.

She stood proudly in front of it. "Pretty good, huh?"

"Good thing we bought the washable crayons," Uncle Sam muttered.

Rae shot him a nasty look. "It's my masterpiece!" she insisted. "You can't just wash it off!" She glared at Uncle Sam with her hands on her hips. "Really! How could you?"

A little smile appeared on Dad's face, the first one since he got that phone call. "Yeah, Sam," Dad said, the smile growing some, "how could you?"

Uncle Sam looked between them, that funny crease between his eyebrows. A woman walked into Bobby's room wearing those funny hospital clothes. Hers were blue. "Visiting hours are almost over, gentlemen," she announced. "Ten minutes."

Rae hid behind Dad.

"They let us in last night," Dad said as he stood up.

The woman shrugged. "I don't make the rules. All I can tell you is that if you aren't out of here in ten minutes, I'll have to report it." She paused by Bobby's bed. "And that." She pointed out Rae's masterpiece.

Rae grinned into Dad's side. Yep, it was that good.

"We could probably use a good night's sleep anyway," Uncle Sam said. "Come on, Dean."

She clung to Dad's side until they got into the car. Maybe they could have some real food tonight, from a window.

"We're not going to bed early. Are we." Dad didn't sound like he was asking a question.

"We could," Uncle Sam said, "but I think we can find the area Bobby was looking into. We could go check it out."

Dad started the car. "Maybe." He looked at her and then at Uncle Sam. "You think?"

Uncle Sam's face got all serious. "We'll both be there," he said. "Nothing will happen. We'll just check out the area and call it a night."

"Excuse me?" Rae looked between Dad and Uncle Sam. "What are we talking about?"


	5. Ch5:Checking It Out

I forgot to say, and I apologize for that, this story is for tona234angel and she must approve the chapters before I post! Tona, I want to let you know that we're proud of you for that big move you made and wish you all the best!!

**Chapter Five**

**Checking it Out**

Sam really wanted to check out that area right away, but Dean was too hesitant to go at night. He kept looking at Rae then at Sam, like Sam was asking his brother to choose between them.

"First thing in the morning?" Sam asked as he passed out the bags of food from the drive-thru.

The worry etched in Dean's face faded. "Sounds good," he said as he took his food.

Rae stamped her foot, glaring at them. "What sounds good?"

Dean pulled a burger out of his bag. "We're going to look into Bobby's theory in the morning."

"Meaning?" Rae demanded. Man, when that kid got comfortable with you, she really got comfortable.

"Meaning we're going to check out the area where they found Bobby in the morning," Sam told her as he settled into one of the hard backed chairs. Dean shot him a hard glare which Sam returned. What was he supposed to do? Lie to her?

"Oh." She stood in the middle of the room holding her kid's meal. "All of us?" Rae asked weakly.

"All of us together," Dean said, giving her a funny look. "We aren't going to leave you anywhere, don't worry." He patted the bed next to him. "Come on, let's eat."

Rae moved slowly to sit next to Dean. She still seemed very uncomfortable, which was odd. Normally Rae was extremely comfortable in Dean's presence. Sam decided he needed to keep an eye on that, especially if she had bad nightmares tonight.

* * *

Rae did not like this, she did not like it at all. No, this was not good. It was a really, really, really, really bad idea. She stumbled a little as she followed Dad. He gripped her hand tighter to keep her up but he did not slow down. Rae wondered if Dad thought this was a good idea.

"Daddy? Why are we doing this?" she asked. Again. Still hoping for a good answer, Daddy, Rae thought.

"Because we need to find out what happened to Bobby," Dad said. Again. Same answer. He looked down at her. "Why do you keep asking that?"

"I don't like it here," she complained. The trees near the lake were dark and spooky. "It's creepy."

"I don't like it either," Dad said, squeezing her hand, "but we need to check this area out."

Rae decided that as long as she held on to Dad, nothing bad could happen. She hoped. If something bad did happen to Dad, maybe she could save them using his gun. "Daddy? When are you going to show me how to use your gun?"

Dad froze, just like that. Rae walked right into his leg. He stood there, not moving, for what felt like the longest time. When Dad finally looked down to face her, he had a strange look on his face. "Why do you want to learn how to use a gun?"

Rae tried to tell him how important it was. "What if something bad happened and you got knocked out and Uncle Sam didn't know? What then? I need to be able to use your gun to protect you."

Dad frowned at her. "You don't protect me. I protect you. Got it?"

Afraid she said something wrong, Rae took a little step backwards. "Yes, sir."

He squeezed her hand again. "Good. Now keep a sharp lookout. Tell me if you spot anything that looks strange."

"Strange how?" Rae asked, studying the ground as she followed Dad again.

"Anything that doesn't look right," Dad replied. "Like a bush with a hole in it that someone might have walked through or something somebody dropped or anything that doesn't belong."

Rae nodded to herself, reciting the list: bushes with holes, trash, strange stuff. As she repeated the list in her head, she thought she saw something move. Rae stopped, pulling Dad to a stop with her. She pointed to a group of the creepy trees. Dad nodded. He dropped her hand. What was Dad doing? Then Dad pointed to the ground at her feet and then at her. She was supposed to stay put. She was so scared, Rae probably couldn't have run after Dad even if she was allowed.

That was when she saw it. It was like something from her nightmare last night. It was big and dark and scary, and it went right after Dad. Rae tried to scream, she really did, but the sound got stuck in her throat. Dad walked right into it. He dropped to the ground.

"Daddy!" The scream came out then, not that it mattered. Rae ran to Dad, ignoring the thing standing over him. She dropped to her knees and clutched at his shirt with the buttons.

"Clem?"

Through the tears pouring out of her eyes, Rae looked up. The man standing over her was tall and had a round face and neatly trimmed hair. She blinked up at him in total disbelief. "Daddy?" she squeaked. "You're supposed to be dead."

He smiled the special smile he had just for her. "Hey, sweetie. You didn't think I was just going to leave forever, did you?"

Rae wound Dad's shirt around her hand as she nodded. "You said you were going away. You said I had a new Dad." Tears flowed down her cheeks. "You said Dean could be my new dad. You said!"

Daddy, the dead one, looked puzzled and all of a sudden, he didn't look so much like her old Daddy any more. She yanked and yanked on Dad's shirt, but he didn't move and his eyes didn't open.

"Rae? Are you ready to go now?"

When Rae looked up this time it was Dad looking at her. But Dad was on the ground. She looked down again to be sure. Rae was sure it was Dad's shirt she had wound around her hands, even though now it looked like it was a different person on the ground. The Dad standing up held out a hand to her.

"Come on, sweetie. Let's go." He gave her the smile that made her feel safe.

Well, maybe it was Dad. Maybe he tricked the thing that came after him. She started to unwind one hand from the shirt.

"That's my girl," Dad said, his smile broadening. Feeling better, Rae rushed to get her hands free so she could go with Dad. "And where we're going, there are going to be other kids to play with. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

She stopped untwisting her hands from the shirt. Staring up, Rae really studied the man standing over her. Dad never suggested before that she go play with strangers, not even once. He did look like Dad, he really did. There was something not right, though. Rae twisted her hands back in the shirt as she stared. Nope, it couldn't be Dad. She forced herself to look down, even though she really didn't want to. Dad, her new dad, was still lying on the ground with his eyes closed. He'd better be sleeping, she thought.

Rae shook her head once before resting it on Dad's chest. The thing that looked and sounded like Dad kept talking to her, but Rae shut her eyes and pretended it was just her and Dad taking a nap. Everything was just fine. When they woke up from their nap, Dad would explain everything.

* * *

Sam squinted up at the late morning sun as he leaned against the Impala. What was keeping Dean? Maybe Rae wanted to play or something and slowed him up. Sam pulled out his cell, debating on whether or not to call. After a few more minutes, he pressed the call button. Maybe Dean needed some help. Dean's cell rang over to voicemail. Disturbed, Sam tried again. And again. And again.

Anxious, Sam headed out in the direction Dean went earlier. He kept calling Dean's phone, hoping to hear it ringing. As he rushed through the area, eyes scanning for Dean or Rae, Sam heard the faint sound of Dean's ringer. He stopped, going completely still, to listen for it again. It came from just up ahead. Sam approached slowly, his free hand gripping the handgun tucked into his back waistband. Voicemail. Sam stopped and called Dean's phone again.

He pushed slowly through a copse on the edge of the lake. Hidden from general view by the trees were Dean and Rae. This wasn't exactly the time or place for a nap! Alarmed, Sam rushed out of the trees to his brother's side. Rae's eyes were squeezed tightly closed.

"Dean?" Sam asked gently as he felt his brother's neck for a pulse. Finding it steady, he let out a sigh of relief. "Rae?"

The girl didn't move. Sam decided she might really be asleep. He tried to lift her up, but she clung tightly to Dean. So. Not asleep. Next he shook Dean, trying to wake his brother to get some help with Rae. Nothing. Dean was really out.

"Rae? Sunshine?" Sam ran a hand over her head. Now he noticed the tears covering her cheeks. "Rae, did something happen?" She still did not move. He brushed his fingers over her face, wiping away the tears. "Sammie Rae."

Those rich brown eyes blinked open slowly. She looked at him, but Sam was not certain she actually saw him. "Rae?" he tried again, speaking soft and gentle. "Honey, what happened?"

Her eyes closed again and she clung tighter to Dean, pressing her face into his chest.

Sam considered the situation. Something clearly happened, maybe whatever happened to Bobby. Great. That would be his fault. He decided there was no way he could carry both of them, so Sam called for an ambulance. He had no idea how to handle Rae with an unconscious Dean, though.

Two phone calls and twenty minutes later the ambulance arrived. Sam ran back toward the road to lead the paramedics to his brother. One of them gave him a dirty look when they saw Rae with Dean, like he shouldn't have left her alone. Hell, he found her like that. It wasn't like she was going to move, which they found out the hard way about ten seconds after reaching Dean.

Yeah, those screams were all too familiar to Sam. It seemed odd with the sun still shining, but not unexpected. He took his time getting over there. Why rush? It wasn't like he would be able to calm Rae down anyway. When he put his hands on her waist she struggled and squirmed against him, trying to get away.

"Can't you calm her down?" one of the paramedics shouted over her screams.

Sam shot him a nasty glare. "I'm trying!" He tried talking to her, telling her that Dean would be fine and these people were here to help, but she just clung tighter. Finally one of the paramedics hit on the idea of cutting Dean's shirt. That left Sam standing alone near the water's edge holding a screaming Rae with a piece of checked cloth clutched tightly in each hand. The more desperate he became to calm her, the further his mind reached out for soothing words. Finally he hit on the ones that seemed the most comfortable.

"It's okay. I'm here. I got you. I won't let anything else happen. I got you. I'm here."

Rae started to relax in his arms. She turned to wrap her arms around his neck and cling tightly. Sam rubbed her back as he continued his litany. The analytical part of his brain reached out to find where these calming words came from and why were working. He remembered hearing them during a thunderstorm, a bad one that knocked out all the power in the crappy apartment where they lived. Dean had sat on his bed rubbing his back and saying that over and over again until Sam had been able to fall asleep. Then it made sense. Dean probably used the same words on Rae and their magic still worked.

"Hey," he said softly into her hair once the ringing in his ears dissipated. "You ready to go check on Dean at the hospital?"

Rae nodded into his neck. Rubbing her back, Sam headed up the slope to the road and the Impala.

Sitting in the hospital between Dean and Bobby's bed while they were unconscious was probably the most depressing thing he had ever done. It was compounded by Rae holding the scraps of Dean's shirt like a safety blanket while sitting calmly in his lap. That kid was never still, never perfectly quiet and behaved like that. She still had not uttered a single word.

He was actually relieved when the nurse, a battle-axe disguised as a cute blonde, came in to run them off for the evening. Sam took Rae straight to one of the local pancake houses that was open twenty-four hours.

"What do you want to eat?" Sam asked gently as he pushed the kid's menu toward her.

Rae took the menu and offered crayons. "Bacon and pancakes." She did not look up, but Sam smiled anyway. At least she was still talking.

Sam decided that they could drag this meal out as long as possible. Maybe Rae would be so tired that she would fall asleep on the way to the motel. He could only hope.


	6. Ch6:Nightmares

**Chapter 6 – Nightmares**

Sam approached bedtime with more trepidation than a vampire nest. At least he knew how to handle vampires. A seven year old girl with a Dean-fixation? No clue. That was supposed to be Dean's job. Still fully dressed, Rae eyed the two beds suspiciously.

"I'll even try to do voices," Sam promised, sitting on one bed. He patted the space beside him. "Come on. At least try."

Her lower lip quivered as her arms crossed over her chest. "Why can't we just sleep up at the hospital with my dad?" Rae's voice quavered and she definitely looked on the verge of tears.

Sam started to explain that she needed a good night's sleep, that just hanging out at the hospital wouldn't do any good, that they were doing Dean a favor by…

Dean would want her there. Dean would want him there. Dean would be beside himself with worry and then pissed if he woke up all alone in a hospital, assuming the worst.

Rae had already been separated from too much; she didn't need to be separated from Dean, not even for a night. Those doctors up at the hospital didn't know his family like he did. Sam grabbed the backpack with her story and activity books. "Let's go."

Rae's face lit up. "Seriously?" she squealed.

"Are you kidding?" Sam slung the backpack over his shoulder. "Do you know how ticked off Dean would be with me if I made you cry?" He grinned at her.

Rae rushed to the door and pulled it open. She waited for Sam to walk through before grabbing his hand. Sam squeezed her hand gently as the door slammed shut and they made their way to the car. He strapped her in beside him before driving to the hospital.

Visiting hours were over, but a little thing like that was not going to stop him. They walked through the emergency room entrance like they owned the place. Sam didn't even pause as he led Rae through the doors to the main part of the hospital. He hoped any hospital personnel who spotted them would assume they were supposed to be here. Sam walked purposefully through the halls towards Dean's room. When they passed the nurses' station, he heard a woman's voice call out to him. Sam ignored it, pushing open Dean's door.

The sight inside was not exactly what he expected.

"What the hell is this!" Sam roared, storming into the room.

Several doctors and nurses surrounded Dean's bed. His brother was literally tied down to the bed, wide straps across Dean's chest and legs and some kind of leather straps holding his wrists and ankles in place.

"Sir, please!" A man in a white coat held up a hand. "This looks far worse than it is."

"Daddy?" Rae's voice was full of tears and Sam watched the doctor's face shift into horror at the sight.

"Daddy?" He glanced back at Dean before addressing her. "Honey, you really shouldn't be here. We're doing everything we can for your Daddy."

"Tying him up is helping?" Sam demanded, moving closer to the bed. Now that he could get a better look, he saw Dean's face was covered in sweat and his brother's normally spiky hair was plastered to his skull. "How the hell is this helping?"

"It's for his own protection," the doctor argued. "Even sedated he was thrashing around so violently that he was…"

As the doctor spoke, Sam realized exactly what the problem was. Stupid doctors. "Rae," he interrupted the man, "go snuggle up. It's bedtime."

"No!" the doctor tried to move between his patient and the racing child, but Rae was pretty quick. Sam figured Dean would be proud of the move she used to duck around the doctor. She bounced onto the bed in a manner only children can get away with to lay her head on Dean's shoulder. The results were instantaneous. Dean's thrashing stopped. Rae curled up next to him, pressing as much of her body against his as possible.

Dean's right arm twitched.

"You see?" the doctor demanded. "This stunt of yours hasn't changed anything. You can't control someone's unconscious."

Sam frowned at the man. "No, you don't understand." He made it to Dean's side in two quick strides. With deft fingers Sam removed the restraint from his brother's right wrist. Freed, Dean's right arm flew through the air to wrap around Rae. He tried to roll on his side, his efforts hampered by the straps holding him to the bed.

"Give me a hand," Sam ordered the other people gathered in the room. "Now." As the straps were removed, Sam felt obligated to explain. "He was searching for her, that's why you couldn't get him to settle down. Dean can't sleep unless Rae is with him."

With the straps gone, Dean's larger frame curled protectively around Rae. She snuggled into his embrace. The only part of his body not to relax was his left arm which searched for something. Realizing his brother wanted his hunting knife, Sam searched for something to substitute for the knife. His eyes fell on the call button. Sam rushed to that side of Dean's bed to press the call button into his brother's hand. The hand clutching the call button disappeared under the pillow. A deep breath escaped Dean as his body finally relaxed. Sam smiled at the sight. Maybe it meant Dean would be waking up soon.

The doctor motioned Sam out into the hall. "And why is that?" the man asked, genuinely curious. "Does it have something to do with the fact she doesn't have a mother?"

Sam weighed the question, deciding how he would answer. "Yes," he finally said. "She saw both of her parents attacked and killed by a wild animal." Well, it was the closest to the truth this guy would ever hear. "My brother adopted her. They're inseparable."

The doctor's eyebrows rose. "Adopted?" He glanced back into the room before looking at Sam again. "That I wouldn't have guessed."

It was late and Sam was tired. He did not feel like discussing Dean and Rae's entire relationship right now. "Are there any of those chairs that fold out so you can sleep in them?"

The doctor started. "Oh, uh, maybe. I think there are a few in the maternity ward. I'll see if I can steal one for the night."

Sam nodded. "Thanks."

He returned to his brother's room to glare at the people still in there. The last person to leave was a nurse staring at Dean with misty eyes. Sam took her by the elbow to usher her out.

"That is just so sweet," she said as Sam shoved her out the door. Silently, Sam disagreed with her. It wasn't sweet, it was necessary. Without Dean, Rae would be plagued by nightmares she wouldn't be able to wake from and without Rae, well, Dean would go back to thinking he wasn't as worthwhile. He took a seat in a hard plastic visitor's chair, glad for Rae coming into their lives.

* * *

Dean searched for his family through the woods. He couldn't even find a broken twig to indicate which way they would have gone. Some bubbles in the lake caught his attention. Fearing the worst, Dean ran to the lake, plunging into the water. He shed his jacket in the shallow part, stripping quickly down to his t-shirt. Ice cold water surrounded him as he dove in. Churning water in front of him drew him closer.

Sam's arms flailed in the water. Dean tried to help, to drag him up for air, but his brother was held fast in the water. He swam down to free his brother, but as he reached Sam's legs he found something that made his heart stop. Rae's head bobbed bonelessly, her body strapped to one of Sam's legs. Dean grabbed at the straps holding her to his brother, but he couldn't break the bonds. His best plan was to get Sam, and Rae with him, out of the water.

Dean swam further down, searching for the thing holding his brother underwater. A dark shadow hovered below Sam's feet. Dean swam toward it when he heard a wonderful sound – Rae screaming. He looked up at her lifeless body. She still did not move but that sound had to be Rae, it couldn't be anything else. The image of Rae and Sam drowning could be a distraction, an illusion to fool him and draw him away.

"Dean." A familiar voice drifted through the water, past the horrible image in front of him.

"Wake up there, boy," another voice he knew pierced the water. Dean squinted through the water. There had to be a reason he could hear them.

"Come on, big brother." Sam stopped thrashing in the water, his lips turning blue as his arms floated to hover near his head. "You can do it, open your eyes."

Dean squeezed his eyes shut, the images of Sam and Rae turning blue in the water burned into his mind. How could he hear Sam when he was under water?

"Daddy!" The urgency rocketing through that word threw his eyelids open.

Rae, alive and breathing, stared down at him with wet brown eyes. Soft white light filtered from behind her head, giving her a kind of halo. "Rae? You okay?"

A whoosh of air from his left drew his attention. Sam and Bobby stood over his bed. "Bobby?" He cast his eyes down at Bobby's hospital gown. "Aren't you supposed to be in the hospital?"

Bobby smiled at him. "We are in the hospital."

Dean tried to sit up, but Rae threw herself on his neck and he sunk back down into the bed. He was in a bed. A quick glance around assured Dean they were in a hospital room and not at the bottom of the lake. He relaxed back into the bed.

"Good to see you up," he said to Bobby. "So did Sam figure out what happened?"

Sam, standing right behind Bobby, shook his head. "He woke up when he heard you yelling."

Dean frowned at his brother. "Yeah, okay. That doesn't help."

A small goofy grin erupted on Sam's face. "Nope, but that's okay. We'll figure it out."

Two nurses and a doctor burst into the room at that moment. The doctor's eyes flashed between Dean and Bobby.

"You," he pointed out Bobby, "back in bed." He turned to the nurse. "Get him into bed and take his vitals."

"Yes, doctor." She rushed over to take one of Bobby's arms. Bobby scowled at her, but he went along peacefully.

He approached Dean with a penlight in hand. Dean sat still while the doctor shined the light in his eyes and the nurse took his temperature. "Sit up, I want to check your lungs," the doctor ordered.

Dean cradled Rae against his chest as he sat up. Her arms tightened around his neck and he rubbed her back in tight circles, trying to calm her.

"Here." Sam's hands appeared in front of his face. "I'll take her."

"Good luck," Dean replied as her arms tightened again, threatening to cut off his air supply.

"Come on, Sunshine," Sam crooned gently. "The doctor needs to check Dean out, make sure he's okay. You can snuggle again in a minute."

Amazingly, Rae released him and allowed Sam to pick her up. How the hell long had he been out? He stared at them while the doctor pressed an ice cold stethoscope against his back.

"Well, everything seems fine," the doctor finally said. He nodded at Sam who handed Rae back over. She snuggled so close Dean wondered just how scared she had been. "I still don't understand why you and Mister Singer wouldn't wake up. What's the last thing you remember?"

Dean shrugged. "Just being out by the lake."

"You were out by the lake?" Bobby snapped. "What the hell were you doing out there?"

"It's a big lake, Bobby," Dean said, rolling his head to the side so he could see their old friend, "it's kind of hard to avoid."

"You were found in the same area as Mister Singer," the doctor announced. Bobby scowled, glaring at Dean. Dean decided to leave that argument for later. "Can you think of anything that would cause you to pass out? We didn't find any signs of trauma."

Dean shook his head. He assumed Bobby did the same by the doctor's disappointed face.

"So when do we get out of here?" Dean demanded.

The doctor sighed. "I'd really like to keep both of you for a day or two, for observation. But that's not going to happen, is it?" He shrugged. "Well, it was worth a try. I'll write up release papers for after lunch. I'd like to see you both eat breakfast and lunch before we let you go."

"Sounds good," Sam said. Dean rolled his eyes. Sam was probably the only person in the room who might actually like that idea.


	7. Ch7:Fessing Up

**Chapter 7 - Fessing Up**

"So what is the last thing you remember, Dean?" Sam asked as he watched Rae cling to his brother's neck.

Dean shrugged. "Just checking out the area they found Bobby in."

Sam noticed that Rae clutched Dean a little tighter.

"And?" Sam demanded, figuring his brother had to be holding back.

Dean shrugged again. "Rae stopped, so I figured she saw something. I told her to stay put while I checked it out."

"And?" Sam prompted again, close to losing his temper.

Dean glared. "And then I woke up here."

"Nothing else happened?" Sam asked. That sounded too pat, too convenient. Dean shook his head. "What about your nightmare last night?"

"What about it?" Dean wrapped his free arm around Rae. Sam doubted his brother was even conscious of the protective move.

The sound of a throat clearing drew his attention. Sam turned to look at Bobby watching them with expectant eyes.

"I still want to know what the hell you boys are doing here," he snapped with the sheets clenched tightly in his fists.

Sam glared back. "Don't you know who your medical emergency contact is?"

The irritation on Bobby's face faded instantly. His gaze shifted to Dean, who was looking at him. "You shouldn't have come."

Dean's head tilted briefly to one side, as if to say 'little late now, old man.' "You want a different emergency contact?" Dean asked, his voice softer than normal.

Bobby stared at Dean for a moment. Eventually he shook his head. Sam had the feeling something just happened between the two other men in the room, but he had no idea what it was. That was a little irritating.

"So what do you remember, Bobby?" Sam asked instead, not wanting to open up any emotional can of worms. Considering who he was talking about, he would probably not be able to pry the lid off that can anyway.

Bobby's hands relaxed on the sheets and he smoothed out the wrinkles as he spoke. "Not much. I saw something dark from the corner of my eye, and that was about it. Until I heard Rae screaming and Dean over there hollering."

Sam started to see a correlation. "Dean, what woke you up?" he asked quickly as his head snapped to the side to see his brother.

Dean motioned to Rae's back, then went back to rubbing comforting circles. Sam turned back to Bobby.

"Did you have a nightmare, too?" he demanded as excitement crept into his voice.

Bobby's eyes darted between Sam and Dean. He glanced down at the sheets now being twisted between his hands. "It wasn't important."

Sam scooted his chair further between the two beds. "Maybe it is, Bobby," he insisted. "Maybe you two had the same kind of nightmare and it was keeping you from waking up." He looked between the older hunter and his brother a few times. "What? Do I have to beat it out of you?"

Rae sat up with a gasp, glaring at him. "Uncle Sam!"

His mouth flapped open and closed a few times, no sound coming out. Dean chuckled. "Rae? Do you think Bobby noticed your masterpiece yet?"

Rae gasped. She clambered down quickly from Dean's bed, shot over to Bobby and then stood shyly just out of reach. Rae pointed to the flowered wall. Both of Bobby's eyebrows lifted, as if he were daring her to talk to him. She took a deep breath. "Like my decorations?" Rae asked in a very, very soft voice.

Bobby turned to study the wall seriously. He cleared his throat. "Looks like a masterpiece to me. Too bad we have to leave it here."

Sam jumped to his feet, cell phone in hand. "How about a picture with the artist?" he suggested quickly. All they needed was for Rae to want to take a chunk of the wall with them. Rae posed as Sam snapped a couple of shots with his camera phone.

"Hey, Sam," Dean hissed as Sam returned to his chair, "send me those?"

Sam grinned as he emailed the pictures to Dean's cell. "You got 'em."

Dean nodded in thanks. "Since they're going to spring us today anyway, I'd like to go ahead and get dressed. Are my clothes in the car?"

Sam shook his head. "Back at the room."

"Why don't you and Rae go grab something for me?" Dean suggested, making that movement Sam took to mean he wanted some time to talk to Bobby.

Sam leaned over to whisper, "You'll tell me if you get anything?"

Dean rolled his eyes. Right, of course he would. "Rae, let's go get Dean some clothes. I'll let you pick them out."

"Seriously?" She beamed at Sam. "So Dad's really coming home today?"

"You heard the doctor. He gets to come home right after lunch, if he behaves," Sam replied.

Rae stopped by Dean's bed, staring hard. "Then maybe I should stay, to be sure Dad behaves."

Dean laughed, giving her a little shove. "Don't you dare bring back that terrible blue shirt, either!"

She grinned maliciously as she took Sam's hand. "Bobby? Can we pick up something for you, too?" Sam offered.

Bobby nodded. "I'd appreciate some real clothes."

"No problem." Sam gave them a wave as he and Rae left. "See?" he asked her. "I told you they'd be fine."

Rae rolled her eyes dramatically. She had clearly been taking lessons from Dean. "Yes, Uncle Sam. Whatever you say, Uncle Sam."

He used one finger to tickle her side, causing her to squeal loud enough to draw attention from the nurse's station. Sam grinned sheepishly as they passed, but he noticed the nurses whispering and one pointing out Rae. He guessed the word was out about how 'sweet' Dean and Rae were. Not bothering to contain his eyerolls, Sam took her hand again to lead them outside.

* * *

Dean pushed up to sit on the edge of his bed, legs dangling off the side. "Okay, Bobby. The kids are gone. Give."

Bobby's perfect puzzled expression was so good, Dean was certain it had been practiced. "Give what?"

Dean scowled. "What nightmare did you have?" he demanded.

"Who says I had a nightmare?" Bobby asked in a similar demanding voice. God, sometimes the man acted so much like Dad it was scary. At least it wasn't all the time.

"You did," Dean insisted.

Bobby scratched the whiskers along one cheek. "You first," he finally offered.

Dean felt like rolling his eyes, but that might put Bobby off. "Fine. I dreamed Sam and Rae were drowning in the lake."

Bobby's eyes widened. "And something was down there, in the water, holding them under?"

Now it was Dean's turn to stare in disbelief. "You had the same dream?"

"Pretty much," Bobby admitted, his brows drawing together, "except it was you and Rae underwater. She was tied to your leg."

Dean's eyebrows shot up at that. "I dreamed she was strapped to Sam's leg."

Bobby frowned. "That's more than coincidence. We're going to have to tell Sam."

Dean studied the wall over Bobby's head. "I'm pretty sure it was the sound of Sam and Rae's voices that pulled me out of the dream." He shifted his eyes back to Bobby. "You?"

Bobby sighed. "You and Rae hollering." He shrugged. "Wait a minute. I came out here with the intention of protecting you and Rae." He pointed at Dean. "And you had to be worried about Rae. Were you worried about Sam, too?"

Dean shrugged. "I'm always worried about Sam. Comes with the job description."

Bobby cocked one eyebrow at him.

"Awesome big brother," Dean explained, one side of his face turning up in his best cocky grin.

"Ah, that job." Bobby nodded, his face drawn and serious again. "I think we may be on to something here. Which hotel are you boys staying in?"

"Same as yours," Dean replied. "We figured that would be easiest."

"Good, because I think we might have a good lead now." Bobby's frown deepened. "And I'm not sure I'm real happy about it."

Dean scrubbed a hand down his face. "Terrific. Just what I wanted to hear."

"You do realize that we can't let Rae out of our sight." Bobby twisted the sheet in his fists again. "Probably ought to have two of us with her at all times."

Dean's eyes drifted to the door. "Now he tells me."

* * *

"Uncle Sam?" Rae's eyes darted back and forth through the motel room. "Can we go now?"

"Just a second, honey," Uncle Sam said, digging through Dad's duffel. "He'll still be awake when we get back."

"Yeah, okay." She shifted nervously from foot to foot. "I just want to be sure it's really him."

"That it's really him?" Uncle Sam chuckled. "Why wouldn't it be him?"

Rae shrugged, checking the room again. "Maybe there's something that looks like Dad?"

Uncle Sam froze with one hand still in Dad's bag. He turned his head to look at her through his hair. "Is there something that looks like Dad?" he asked, real slow.

Rae stared hard. Uncle Sam never called her dad "Dad." She looked down at her feet, fidgeting nervously, and shrugged.

"Rae?" Uncle Sam appeared in front of her, making her jump back. He grabbed her by both arms, but he didn't squeeze too hard, just enough to keep her from getting away. He kneeled down in front of her. One hand let go of her arm and pushed up on her chin, so she had to look at Uncle Sam. "Did you see something that looked like your Dad?" He sighed real soft. "Rae, Sunshine, it's important. Really important. Talk to me."

She nodded once, fast, worried about what Uncle Sam might do next. His hand slid down to hold hers again. "As soon as we get back to the hospital, you need to tell us all about it. Okay?"

Rae shrugged, studying her sneakers again. What was she supposed to say? That she almost left with the Fake-Dad? Dad was going to be so upset, so disappointed in her. How could she do that? Why could it trick her like that? Maybe she didn't care enough, or pay attention enough. Rae followed Uncle Sam without saying anything else. Uncle Sam carried Dad's clothes over to Bobby's room, got some more clothes, and then went back out to the car. He did all of that with just one hand, never letting her go. She let herself be buckled in, even though she really didn't deserve to feel safe.

Rae stared out the window the whole way back to the hospital. She probably needed to go back to her old house now, Dad and Uncle Sam didn't need somebody as stupid as her around screwing things up. Watching her feet the whole way back to Dad's room, Rae followed Uncle Sam. She kept trying to slow down because she didn't want to tell Dad how stupid she was. Shouldn't she know Dad well enough now to figure out when something nasty was trying to trick her?

When she was walking just as slow as she could, Uncle Sam picked her up. Damn it! Rae glared at him, but he gave her this really nice smile that made her feel even more guilty. So she turned away from him, because she really didn't deserve for anybody to smile at her.

"What's with her?" Dad said and he sounded upset.

Uncle Sam handed her over. "I think something happened after it knocked you out." Rae cringed. They would definitely have to send her back to that stupid house now, with the weird man who smelled funny and whose eyes used to turn black. She squeezed her eyes closed just as tight as she could, hoping she wouldn't have to see how disappointed Dad was.

When Dad started rubbing her back again, that just made her feel worse. He wouldn't do that if he knew. He'd be so upset. Uncle Sam would probably make her tell him, too.

"Why?" Dad asked and Rae tried to turn away from him, but he pulled her into his lap. Damn it again!

"Because," Uncle Sam paused for a second, "she was worried about leaving you alone because something might look like you."

She felt something strange then, like Dad shook or something. Rae didn't dare open her eyes, she didn't want to see the disappointment on Dad's face. She put her hands over her ears so she wouldn't have to hear them tell her that she had to go back to her old house.

Her arms were pulled down, so she couldn't hold her hands over her ears, but Rae refused to open her eyes.

"Rae?" Dad sounded funny. "Did the thing that knock me out come after you?"

She tried to squirm away, to get off the bed so she could run out of the room. Then maybe she could hide until… What? Dad decided maybe he would keep her again? Yeah, he'd be so worried after she disappeared he wouldn't care that she was such a terrible daughter. Then when she popped up again, before Dad and Bobby left the hospital, Dad would be so relieved he would forget all about asking these questions. Rae pushed harder to get away.

"Rae? Rae!" She tried desperately to worm her way out of there, to escape. Suddenly Rae found that she could not move, not even a little.

"Sammie Rae." Dad used 'that' tone. "Open your eyes."

She didn't want to, but Rae couldn't not open her eyes now. She opened them slowly and found both Dad and Uncle Sam right in her face. Rae jerked back, surprised and confused. They both held her down on Dad's bed.

"Sammie Rae," Dad said and she knew he was really serious because he used her whole name, "what did you see?"

Rae swallowed hard. "First it looked like my other dad," she squeaked, "and then it looked like you."

Dad's forehead crinkled. "Did it talk to you?" he asked in a soft voice. Rae considered lying, but she knew better. Dad always found out, so she just nodded. "Tell me what it said."

"First," she paused to take a deep breath, and Dad and Uncle Sam didn't say anything, they just waited for her to tell them how horrible a kid she was, "when it looked like my other dad it said it came back for me."

"Why didn't you go?" Dad asked.

Rae stared hard at Dad. "Why? He's dead and he told me that you would take care of me."

"Then what happened?" Uncle Sam asked and he sounded just a little bit angry.

Rae swallowed hard again. This was the hard part, the part where she had to admit what a lousy person she was. "Then it looked like Dad," she said quietly. Rae closed her eyes, not wanting to see their disappointed faces. "It said we needed to go."

"But you didn't," Uncle Sam said. "Why?"

"I was going to," she admitted, squeezing her eyes so tight little white sparks shot out behind her eyelids, "but it said we were going where there were other kids for me to play with. That's when I knew it wasn't Dad."

"That's my girl," she heard Dad whisper in her ear. Surprised, Rae opened her eyes to see if he was serious. "God, you're a great kid." He kissed her on her forehead.

"Yeah," Uncle Sam said, running a hand over her head.

"But…but…I was gonna leave with it," Rae protested. "That was bad, right? I'm a terrible kid!"

Dad looked at Uncle Sam. "Mind making sure she stays put while I change clothes?"

Uncle Sam smiled. "Make it quick."

Dad nodded, grabbing his clothes. "Won't be a sec. Then," he pointed right at her, "you and I are going for a little walk. I think we need a talk."


	8. Ch8:Enough Guilt for Everybody

**Chapter 8**

**Enough Guilt For Everybody**

Rae still had her eyes closed when Dean came out of the bathroom. Sam forgot his boots, but he probably had an old pair in the trunk. For now he would go barefoot. Dean didn't want to put off this talk with Rae.

Dean scooped her off the bed. She was actually a little big to carry around, but he didn't see her just following him around after her performance a few minutes ago. A little relieved by the fact Rae wrapped her arms around his neck, Dean headed out to the nurses station.

"Excuse me?" He flashed one of his innocent smiles, the kind he used when interviewing.

The nurse turned around. "Mister Snyderson? Aren't you supposed to be in bed?"

Dean widened his smile. "I need to have a little talk with my, uh, daughter." He swallowed a little. It was the first time he had actually used that word, normally he stuck with kid. "Is there a courtyard or water fountain or someplace around here?"

"Wait a minute," the nurse's stern face softened, "aren't you the man who had to be restrained last night until his brother brought his daughter in?"

Rae's whole body tensed against him and Dean forgot to smile. "Restrained?" He scratched the back of his neck. "Well, that might explain a couple of the bruises."

She gave him a thin smile. "Oh. Well, uh," she shifted nervously, clearly uncomfortable with the change in topic, "yes we have a courtyard. Go straight down this hall and it's through the double doors on the left. You can't miss it. But if you're looking for privacy, there is an indoor fountain just off the lobby."

"Thanks," he managed to say. As he walked down the hall toward the lobby, Dean whispered, "Restrained?"

Rae shook her head into his neck. "The stupid doctors tied you up."

He felt her start to shiver against him and used the usual treatment for that, holding her tight. When they reached the lobby, Dean could see why the fountain would be more private than a courtyard. It was huge, reaching up to the third floor of the hospital, and created a continuous white noise that filled the entire open area of the lobby. Sitting near it, Dean realized that there would be no way anyone could overheard a single thing he and Rae said. He picked a chair near the back wall and still close enough to the fountain to feel cool but not wet from the spray.

"Okay, Sunshine." Dean smiled down at her and watched as she seemed to just shut down in the seat next to him. "Give. What was up with all that trying to get away crap? You bucking for a spanking or something?"

He was gratified that she really looked at him then. Rae stared for nearly a whole minute, long enough for all the hairs on the back of his neck to stand straight up. "You're not sending me away?" she finally asked.

"What the hell are you talking about? Is that what that thing that looked like me told you?" Dean demanded, barely reigning in his anger and frustration over it getting the better of him. Seriously, why couldn't he protect one little girl who never ventured more than a couple of feet away? Why were things always getting the drop on them?

Rae shook her head. "I thought, because I let it trick me…" her voice trailed off into something so soft he couldn't possibly hear it above the constant sound of rushing water. Speaking of which, he needed to use the restroom.

"Sammie Rae," Dean began as he tilted her head up so she would look at him and not the floor, "if you want to go back and live with Dolan, I'll take you myself. But I'd rather have you with me."

She stared hard. "Why? I'm a terrible kid, I was gonna leave with it."

Dean smiled down at her. "Terrible kid? Are you kidding me?" He draped an arm over her shoulders. "If my dad showed up like that, I'd have a real hard time telling him that I wouldn't go with him, even knowing he's really dead." He shrugged at her puzzled face. "I miss him." They never really discussed Rae losing her parents. Well, the father of the year title wasn't in any danger from him, was it? But there was something he just had to know, to confirm, before it would be real in his mind. "You really weren't going to leave with it until it looked like me?"

Rae shook her head.

"Why…uh…" Dean had to grope for even simple words, he was so stunned. "Why not?"

Now Rae looked at him like a second head was sprouting out of his shoulder, like that movie they watched last week.

"You're my dad now," she said. He thought she might go on, explain what that meant, so he waited. Rae sighed as she tugged at a loose thread on his shirt. "They promised."

"Who promised?" Dean asked just as softly as she spoke.

Rae shrugged, concentrating on that pesky thread. "Mom and Dad," she finally whispered, barely audible over the rushing water.

Dean sat for a moment, ignoring the persistent complaint from his bladder, letting that soak in. "When?" he finally asked, wondering when he missed that one.

Her head leaned heavily on his arm as Rae stared into the fountain. The fine spray cooled his exposed skin, creating a slight chill. "Right before you got the papers."

Dean started. Rae jumped away and he had to soothe her back to leaning on him, like a skittish, high-strung horse. He held her gently, rubbing her back and arm as he leaned toward her until she returned to her earlier, comfortable position of leaning on him.

"I don't remember that," he admitted, trying to let her know why he did that.

Rae turned to give him an odd look. "Yeah, well, you get knocked out a lot."

He laughed at that. "I guess I do. Bad habit." They still hadn't gotten to the heart of the matter. "You know," Dean hoped this would get through to her, "I'm really proud of how you handled that."

Her eyes widened until she looked like a comic book character. "For almost leaving with it?" Rae's voice squeaked when she spoke.

Dean nodded seriously. "Most six year olds would never have questioned it, even if the thing looking like their dad said something strange like that."

Rae's face twisted into a scowl.

"What?" Dean asked, taken aback. "What did I say?"

"I'm seven, Dad." The scowl remained firmly in place.

Dean's mind whirled. "Since when?"

She glared. "Since my birthday."

"Which is next month," Dean said quickly.

Rae shook her head slowly. "No. My birthday was two weeks ago. Remember? You got me that huge ice cream thing with the sparklies?" Her face lit up.

Holy crap! He just got her that because she asked for it, not because he thought it was her birthday. So what the hell was next month? "Oh, right," he said weakly. "Yeah, I knew that."

Rae shook her head seriously. "Dad, you really need to stop getting knocked out so much." Then she twisted her hands together, like that had been the wrong thing to say.

"So?" She sounded nervous. "Would most seven year olds just go with something that looked like their dad and never question it? Even if it said strange stuff?" Rae actually looked afraid of his answer.

"Absolutely," he assured her. Crap. He was going to really have to make up for the fact he missed her birthday. But why did he think it was next month? "Most adults would too. It takes a really special person to realize they're being tricked like that." He rubbed the back of her head. "I'm so proud of you."

"Seriously?" Poor Rae looked close to tears. They had enough of that from her nightmares; she didn't need it during the day too.

"Seriously," Dean said firmly. "Now, are you seriously trying to run away, or are you willing to give me another chance?"

Next thing he knew, there was a frantic seven year old (seven, when the hell did that happen?) climbing up him to wrap strong arms around his neck. She just might cut off his ability to breathe this time or all the circulation to his head. He held her just as tight until her rapid, frantic breathing slowed to something more normal.

"I take it that's a yes?" he asked, his voice slightly muffled by her shoulder.

She nodded hard, her head against his.

"Good." Dean stood, still clutching her tightly to him. "Because I really have to pee."

He was rewarded with a giggle. Rae sighed as she relaxed in his arms. "I love you, Daddy."

"Back at ya, kiddo," he replied with a wave of relief. Dean planned to raid the Impala's trunk after they got to the motel. He had copies of Rae's birth certificate in the trunk in his special box, so he didn't need Sam looking over his shoulder. Half the stuff in his box would probably disappear if Sam knew about it, especially some of his favorite pictures of Sam, like the bald ones.

* * *

Dean seemed distracted the whole drive back to the motel, but once again his brother had worked his magic touch with Rae. She acted like her old self again. Sam desperately wished he could have followed along to hear what Dean said, but he didn't dare.

While Dean and Rae were gone, Bobby had filled him in on the similarities between the nightmares. That was so disturbing he had forgotten for a while why Dean and Rae were not in the room. When they returned, Sam had to admit to himself that Dean was doing an amazing job with Rae. Dean carried her back, but the instant they were in the room he set her on her feet and insisted she tell Bobby how she made that mural just for him. It was the most Sam had heard her speak to another person that wasn't him or his brother. Dean beamed at her.

Then, in the car, this dark cloud had settled over Dean that Sam just could not figure out. For Rae he would smile and wrap a comforting arm around her, but he kept shooting Sam these strange worried looks like they were still missing something. Maybe Dean thought the thing they were hunting would come after Rae again. Unfortunately, if that were the case, they probably wouldn't be able to discuss it until either Rae was asleep or distracted by television. She didn't seem to be in the tv watching mood, either. As a matter of fact, Sam doubted Rae would move more than a foot away from Dean for the next few days.

At the motel, Sam headed straight inside to do some research using the new information they had from two first hand experiences. Unfortunately, as far as Sam could tell, Dean and Bobby were probably the only survivors so far. He widened his search criteria to look for any events similar to theirs.

So wrapped up in his new avenues of research, Sam barely acknowledged when Dean and Rae came in. The television came on behind him, turned to one of those stupid kid sitcoms that Rae liked to watch. Sam did his best to tune it out, concentrating on the search window in front of him. Maybe Dean and Bobby weren't the only survivors.

When he turned triumphantly from the laptop to show off his latest find, he found Dean and Bobby examining a piece of paper. Curious, Sam joined them near the door.

"Seriously, Dean, it's not like you were there. I think you ought to cut yourself a little slack here." Bobby clapped a hand on Dean's upper arm. He motioned towards Rae. "She doesn't seem bothered by it."

"By what?" Sam asked, taking the paper from Bobby. It was Rae's original birth certificate. When did Dean get this? Must have been with all that paperwork from Dolan, Sam decided. It surprised him that Dolan let it leave the estate. Then again, short of calling in a SWAT team, he doubted Dolan could have stopped Dean from doing anything. He didn't see what could be the cause of such a serious discussion. "What's wrong with it?" Was this connected to the case?

"Look at the date, Einstein," Dean said under his breath.

Sam's eyes dropped to the birth date. "And?" he asked with a shrug.

Dean shoved him in the arm. "Check the date on your phone."

Confused, Sam pulled out his cell and flipped it open. Today's date glowed in white letters at the top of the screen. Sam compared it with the birth certificate. Wait a minute. "That can't be right," he heard himself say. "I thought it was next month?"

Sam looked up to lock eyes with Dean. "So did I," Dean replied, which really didn't help just how low Sam's stomach was sinking.

"Next month?" Bobby's brow furrowed a moment before a bright smile broke out on his grizzled face. He laughed, shaking both of them by the arm. "You idiots. That's the anniversary of when Dean adopted Rae, not her birthday."

"Was…Was that what all that stuff at the hospital was about?" Sam asked. He had to swallow hard past that dry lump in his throat. He should have known when Rae's birthday was. Dean was terrible about stuff like that. Not the remembering the date part, the knowing what month it was part.

Dean's arms crossed defensively over his chest as he shook his head. "Nah, she thought I forgot celebrating it. It was the day she got me to buy that huge desert with the sparklers." Dean shrugged. "She was afraid I was going to send her back to Dolan for letting whatever-the-hell-this-is trick her."

"You're kidding!" Bobby hissed. "Where the hell would she get that stupid idea?"

Dean shrugged again, glancing back to check on her.

Sam leaned over to whisper, "She doesn't exactly have high self-esteem, Bobby. It's pretty common in kids who have lost both their parents, more so if they witnessed it."

Bobby frowned. He adjusted his hat. "You know, I keep forgetting about that."

Sam smiled at that, until Dean slapped him in the arm. "What the hell, dude?"

"What?" Sam demanded. "I think it's a good thing that's it's hard for someone who knows that to remember. It means she doesn't act like it all the time. That's a good sign, Dean."

"Oh." Dean looked back at her again with a lingering gaze. "She is something else, isn't she?"

Sam shot a grin at Bobby, who rolled his eyes in response. Yeah, Dean had it pretty bad. Sam always suspected when his brother fell, he would fall hard. Sam just never thought his bad-ass brother would fall in love with a little girl, much less take her as his daughter. If someone had told him that, hell, two minutes before it happened, Sam would have laughed his ass off. Now he had trouble remembering what it was like before Rae.

And they forgot her frigging birthday. Crap. That would change, Sam would make sure of it.


	9. Ch9:Oh, That Water Wraith

**Chapter 9**

**Oh, that water wraith**

"Did you find something, Sam?" Bobby asked, hoping to distract the two boys from what they clearly considered a failing on their part. Honestly, those two were worse than their daddy when it came to packing guilt. When he first met John Winchester, Bobby had been strangely relieved to discover someone else who got into this because he lost his wife. They had formed an instant bond. John was so protective, it had been a year or two before he learned the man had two young sons. Days like this made Bobby grateful he had finally earned the right to be allowed to know the boys.

Sam led them back to the laptop, pointing at the screen. "I don't think you two were the first to survive an attack. I found one other, and it's a man. So far, I don't think any women have survived."

"What about the kid?" Dean demanded, leaning over the laptop and scrolling down the article.

"Alive and well. He reported having a hallucination about his birth father," Sam explained.

This fit in perfectly with his theory. He still needed to confirm one thing, though.

"It says here that someone who looked like his birth father showed up and tried to convince the kid to leave with him. Apparently his father abandoned his family about five years before. The kid refused and his step-dad woke up a couple of days later in the hospital." Dean frowned at the screen. "Well, that's just a little too coincidental, isn't it?"

"Rae?" Bobby called past the boys.

Her gaze shifted from the television to him. "Yes, sir?"

"What was it that kept you from going with it? What did it say?" Bobby asked, pushing his hat back on his head.

Rae frowned for a moment, like she really didn't want to think about it. "That there would be other kids for me to play with."

Bobby nodded, his focus returning to the boys. "I guess that means the other kids are alive."

Dean's face darkened and Sam's jaw fell slack.

"And I'm pretty sure I know what we're dealing with," he announced. "It's a fossegrim."

"Right, of course," Dean replied instantly, so Bobby knew he had no clue. Dean nodded at the computer screen for a moment before turning around to ask, "What's that again?"

"I suppose it'd be in the water wraith family," Bobby explained. Dean's head snapped up. "It's a spirit who usually takes the shape of a young boy to lead women and children to their deaths, always by drowning. There's a second legend that says you'll hear a specific sound out on a lake and then someone will be found drowned there, like an omen, and it's usually attributed to these things."

"Water wraith, huh?" Dean asked, glaring at Sam.

"So why would the kids still be alive, Bobby?" Sam asked, clearly ignoring his brother.

"Fossegrim get lonely. When they're lonely, they take kids to live with them." He sighed heavily. "There's not enough lore about that part, though. I don't know what the fossegrim do once the kids catch on to them, or if they get bored with their current batch."

"So." Dean's voice rang through the room. "A lonely water wraith. Who would have thought of that?" He shot another glare at Sam.

Yeah, these boys were getting stranger the longer they were on the road without John. He never woulda guessed it was John who helped them to keep their sanity. So engrossed in watching the brothers glare and make faces at each other, which was pretty entertaining, Bobby didn't notice Rae slip by. She tugged on Dean's shirt until he reached down to pick her up.

"Daddy?" Bobby guessed it was the sound of her voice that finally broke the silent argument between the brothers. "It tried to kidnap me?"

Dean smiled as he rubbed her back. "Looks that way."

She rolled her eyes. "Maybe I should wear a sign. Pick me, I'm easy."

Dean froze. His face went completely serious. "Rae, I don't want to hear that come out of your mouth, ever again."

Her eyes widened. "But…why?"

Dean shook his head. "Just promise me you won't use those words."

"About the sign?" she asked.

"The words on the sign," Dean replied, voice hard.

"Pick me, I'm easy?" She looked nervous just repeating them for clarity.

"That's two times too many," he said.

Rae nodded. "Yes, sir. Never again."

The severity fell from his face. "That's my girl. Got a show to watch over there? We're still talking."

She sighed dramatically as Dean lowered her to the floor. "Fine. You always send me away just when it's getting good." She climbed onto the bed in front of the television. "Not that I'm complaining!" Rae shouted over the sitcom, as if it were turned up loud. "Because I'm not!"

Bobby raised one eyebrow at Sam.

"She gets a reward if she doesn't complain about things we can't change," he explained quickly.

"Like?" Bobby asked.

"The weather," Dean growled, "having to study, wear clothes, take baths." Dean turned to look at him and Bobby thought he could see a few new lines around Dean's eyes. "Stuff like that."

Bobby didn't bother to hide his chuckle. "Well, I certainly don't miss those days. Especially with Sam." He sunk down to sit at the table with his eyes on the younger brother. "You were a mess."

"Whoa! Hang on!" Rae bounced off the bed. She jabbed at the off button on the television before racing over to stand in front of him. "What about Uncle Sam?" Rae demanded with anticipation shining in her eyes.

Bobby smiled at her. Well, they probably needed to wait until she was asleep before discussing how to take down the fossegrim. Poor kid had enough nightmares as it was. For now he could entertain her with a few childhood stories of Dean and Sam. He still couldn't believe she actually decorated the wall at the hospital for him. Hell, before today she'd barely say two words to him. This was a major improvement and Bobby felt like he ought to take advantage of it.

* * *

Rae kept just as still as she possibly could. Her whole body was almost relaxed enough to fall asleep, but then she would miss out on all the good stuff.

"Dean?" Uncle Sam whispered.

"It's okay," Dad said, "she's out."

It almost hurt not to smile at that, but Rae didn't want them to know she was listening. It took lots and lots and lots of practice to be able to do this. Most kids her age, other big almost-grown-up seven year olds, could never stay still long enough without falling asleep like she could. Ever since those scary people took her, Rae liked to stay awake after Dad and Uncle Sam went to sleep, just to be sure no one could break in and steal her when she was asleep. After a couple of weeks of trying to stay awake, Rae learned that Dad and Uncle Sam had all the interesting talks when they thought she was asleep. Now she was getting pretty good at pretending.

"Got a plan yet, Bobby?" Dad whispered.

"I got two. Number one is for you and Rae to hightail it outta here and let me and Sam take care of this thing," Bobby said.

She felt Dad's chest move a little from side to side. "What's plan two?" Dad asked, and he sounded kind of upset.

Bobby cleared his throat. "Then we use you and Rae as bait."

"No!" That was Uncle Sam and he sounded really angry. "No way, Bobby. We can come up with something better than that."

"Okay, fine," Bobby said, real calm, "what's your idea? Sam?"

"Give me a minute," Uncle Sam snapped. Rae heard his sneakers pace across the floor, back and forth, back and forth. She heard fingers snap. "Hey, I forgot about something." Feet shuffled across the carpet again then stopped. The room was perfectly quiet except for the sound of Dad breathing right in her ear and Uncle Sam's fingers on the keyboard.

"Here it is. Fossegrim may let out a warning or omen, some type of loud call over the water, just before there is another drowning. In an unrelated news article, several birdwatchers have been searching for loons in the area because people have been reporting hearing them calling across the lake. Nobody has seen any of the birds, though." Uncle Sam's fingers tapped again. "So? What do you think?"

"About what, Sam?" Dad asked kind of quiet.

"We can wait until someone hears that sound again and go out looking for it that night, before it can get anyone else," Uncle Sam said in the same voice he used when he explained how to sound out a word and why you use lots of words to make a sentence.

"Sounds to me like you're reaching," Bobby replied.

"So what if I am?" Uncle Sam snapped. "I'm sick of people using members of my family as bait."

Rae did not like the fact they sounded upset and Uncle Sam's voice was getting louder. She could feel Dad tensing up. It was up to her to stop this now, before anybody could really get mad. She shifted around and made a couple of noises, pretending to be waking up. Instantly she felt Dad's hands rubbing her back and heard his voice saying those words that always made her feel better. Rae snuggled in closer, enjoying the closeness and the protection. Maybe it was time to go to sleep.

* * *

Gary followed his mom slowly. This vacation was a stupid idea, the dumbest thing she had come up with yet. Okay, the laser tag? That was seriously retro, but at least it had been a little fun. Paintball was much better, but Mom claimed it gave her too many bruises. Well, he could concentrate on shooting other people occasionally. Maybe.

He hefted his suitcase up again, it made terrible noises when it dragged on the cement. Just as they came to the door of their motel room, Gary heard a weird noise. It seemed to come off the lake.

"Mom? Did you hear that?" he asked, staring out into the night.

"Hear what? Oh dear, this doesn't seem to be working." He stood back to watch his mother swipe the door card several more times. "Here," she thrust it at him, "you try it. Sometimes these things just like you better."

He grinned as he took it. "Guess I got that from Dad, huh?" The pained look on her face was just perfect.

When he tried their room card, about a dozen times, it still didn't work. Frustrated, Gary held it out to his mom. "I guess they didn't program it right," he said, a little angry that he couldn't make it work.

"Then maybe you should take it to the office and have them do it right," Mom said in a cold voice.

Gary stared at his mother, trying to figure out if she was serious. She looked dead serious and sounded it, too. "Really? By myself?"

Mom gave him a stiff nod, still glaring. "I think that would be an excellent idea."

Gary shrugged, shoving his suitcase near the door. "Okay, fine. Back in a minute."

He headed for the office. If his dad were here, this never would have happened. Dad was a whiz with this kind of stuff. The door probably would've just opened for Dad.

Gary still didn't understand why Dad had to live someplace else. Mom had all kinds of excuses and Dad, when Mom actually allowed them time together, just kept telling him to be patient. Dad hadn't even called since last summer and Gary was convinced Mom must have said something to make Dad mad and stay away. That was probably why she kept trying to force him to have fun with her, like anybody can force a kid to have fun.

He turned the corner, finally out of Mom's sight, and almost ran into somebody. "Excuse me," Gary mumbled as he attempted to walk around.

The guy moved right in front of him. Annoyed, Gary tried the other way, but the man blocked him there, too. He looked up to see what this guy's problem was, but the words stuck in his throat.

A good looking man with jet black hair and blue eyes that laughed when he did smiled down at Gary.

"D-d-dad?" Gary stuttered. He literally could not believe his eyes! Just wait until he told his English teacher how that really happened to him, she was always saying that was an overused phrase.

"Hey sport," Dad said and Gary could feel the warm tones envelope him. "I've been looking all over this place for you. So, are you ready?"

"Ready?" Gary glanced toward the office, but there was not another soul in sight. "Ready for what, Dad?"

Dad smiled real big. "Remember how I kept telling you to be patient? Well, this is what we were waiting for." He held out a hand that swallowed Gary's. "Let's go, you and me."

"Really?" Gary grinned broadly up at his dad. "Just us? For real?"

Dad kept smiling as they walked away from the motel. "You bet. You didn't really think I was going to just take off and never come back, did you?"

"No, Dad!" Gary felt like skipping as he hurried to keep up with Dad's long strides. "I'd never think that."

Dad's other arm reached over to ruffle his hair and Gary relished every second. "I didn't think so."

They walked through the parking lot towards the lake. This was weird. Where was Dad taking him? He was afraid to ask, afraid he might say the wrong thing and Dad would just leave him out here all alone. The longer they walked, the further from the motel and Mom and people and lights they were. Eventually Gary couldn't hold his question in.

"Where are we going, Dad?" he asked softly, praying he wouldn't offend his father.

Dad, instead of looking mad, smiled at him again. Gary felt a rush of relief. "Don't worry about it. You're going to love it. There will be other kids to play with and everything. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

Gary grinned back. "Sure, Dad. Whatever you say." He gripped Dad's hand tight, not wanting his father to disappear on him. Not now. Not when everything was finally happening the way he wanted it to.


	10. Ch10:Decisions

Warning to fans of the time-honored, much beloved _**Alice in Wonderland**_: I read that book at the tender age of ten and it scared the crap out of me. I kind of hold a grudge.

**Chapter 10**

**Decisions**

The sound of police sirens woke Dean. He jumped awake, Rae's weight the only thing preventing him from springing to his feet. Anxiously looking at the other bed, he found Sam sitting up and staring at the window.

"I'll check," Sam offered. "You two stay inside. They don't have a photo for me." He rushed outside in just sweat pants and the t-shirt he went to bed in.

With a glance at the nightstand, Dean realized his brother did not take his cell. "Damn it," he muttered.

"What?" Rae asked in that sleepy voice, the one where she wasn't quite awake yet.

"I might need to get up in a minute," he said into her hair.

"Huh?" She pushed up to blink heavy eyelids at him. "Why?" Another siren sounded outside and her eyes widened, fully awake. "What's that?"

"That's what Uncle Sam went to check," he told her. "We'll give him ten minutes."

Her face went all serious, and it was so damned cute. "Then we go get him, right?"

"Right." Dean pulled her back against him. "But we have the next ten minutes all alone, just the two of us." He grinned as she snuggled in close. "What will we do?"

"Not math," Rae said quickly.

Dean chuckled. "Want to see if there's a good scary movie on?"

"Funny Daddy," she said as she thumped her head against his shoulder. "You could read some more to me."

He flipped on the bedside lamp. Their book was on the nightstand, open to the page where they stopped. Dean picked it up. "Do you remember the Tin Woodman's story?"

Rae shuddered. "Please don't read that part again. I mean, he is dead, right? He cut off his arms and legs and his own head. Without your head, you're dead. How can he still be walking around talking? That doesn't make any sense."

Dean stared at the top of her head. "Are you sure you're only seven?"

She bent her head all the way back to look at him. "Yes." She sounded older than seven, and irritated, too.

"You just sound a lot older," he replied, returning his attention to the book.

"So how is he walking around and talking? He's a robot, right? They replaced him with a robot," Rae insisted.

Dean cut his eyes back at her. "Well, not according to this story."

Rae shook her head, returning to her earlier position. "That's stupid. When we read this again, just skip that part."

"Okay." Dean preferred that to having this conversation again. "Does that mean you want me to continue?"

"Yes, please. I like Dorothy." She threw an arm over his chest. Dean cleared his throat before he started reading. Next book he planned to pick out instead of Sam. These so-called classics were creepy. The book they read before this one was Alice in Wonderland. A good vampire or werewolf story would at least be educational. After Alice, Dean started having nightmares about babies that turned into pigs. He used that one to kick-start their last salt and burn. Why did they sell books for kids written by drug addicts? People were crazy. Guess Sam was too.

The door opened, interrupting Dorothy slapping the Cowardly Lion on the nose. Sam strode in with his serious 'we're on a hunt' face. "Get dressed," he said as he headed for his duffel. "There's been a new development."

Dean set Rae on her feet before bounding out of bed himself. She was always dressed these days, so there was no reason to worry about that. He pulled jeans on over his night shorts and shoved his feet into his boots. "What happened?"

"Single mom and little boy, eleven, checked in about half an hour ago. Their room card didn't work so she sent him to the office to get it fixed." Sam swapped his sweats for a pair of jeans. "I guess he was getting mouthy with her and she figured if he went by himself it'd teach him a lesson or something. He never made it to the office and no one has seen him."

Sam tossed Rae's shoes on Dean's bed, nodding at her to put them on. She made a rude noise but didn't argue. With a last second grab at his and Rae's jackets, they were headed out the door. When the cool night air hit him, Dean helped Rae stuff her arms in her jacket. After shrugging into his jacket, he took her hand to head toward the flashing lights.

"Who are we?" Dean asked his brother as they approached the crowd.

"Concerned parents. They're organizing a search party and I volunteered us," Sam said.

"Concerned parents?" Dean grinned at his brother. "You're so the mom."

Sam stopped in mid-stride and his head dropped in defeat. He totally set himself up. Dean couldn't help the laugh at his brother's dismay. Several people in the crowd turned around to glare at him. Okay, so it wasn't exactly the right time or place to laugh. Sue him. Dean tried to look appropriately grave as they approached the men organizing the search.

"I got my brother," Sam said as he approached a uniformed officer. The man gave Dean a once-over and frowned. "He's been tracking since we were kids. Eagle Scout."

The officer's frown gave way to a grin. "Eagle Scout? No kidding? My oldest boy is working for that."

"Good for him," Dean replied as he tugged Rae past two guys who clearly had no regard for anyone who stood below chest level. "Where do you want us to start?"

"Well, we're kind of waiting on a professional to check out the wood line, see if he can find where the boy might have gone in," the officer explained.

"Let my brother take a look," Sam insisted. "The longer we wait, the further away the kid can get." There was a timely wail from behind them. Dean turned around to see a woman with red puffy eyes and a tear streaked face.

"That the mother?" he asked Sam softly.

"Yeah. Talk about guilt," Sam whispered.

Dean shook his head. "And if she had been with him, she'd probably have been found floating in the lake before anybody had a clue the kid was gone. Too bad we can't tell her that it didn't just save her life, but maybe his too."

"But we can't," Sam said firmly into his ear. That was funny, because Dean had been considering just that.

"Hey," a tap on his shoulder. Dean turned around to face that cop again. "I just talked to my watch commander. He said if you don't actually cross the tree line and mess up the trail before the pro gets here, you can take a look." He glanced around and dropped his voice. "He also said if you found anything that looks really promising before that prima donna tracker asshole arrives, we can start the search."

"Stay here, Sunshine," Sam said as he reached for Rae's hand. She looked pleadingly at Dean.

"Sorry, kiddo, Uncle Sam's right. I won't go out of sight." He crouched down in front of her, smiling. "Promise."

"Cross your heart?" she asked, drawing an X over his chest.

"Cross my heart," he repeated, matching the X with his finger. "Hope to live."

Rae grinned at him, shoving him in the shoulder. "You better."

He stood. After sticking his tongue out at Rae, and receiving the same face from her, Dean headed toward the tree line. He noticed footsteps behind him. Knowing it wouldn't be Sam, Dean figured it had to be one of the cops.

"Sir?" a male voice called from just behind him.

Dean looked back over his shoulder. The cop who gave him the green light to check things out held out a flashlight. "Thought you could use this," he said.

"Thanks." Dean took the flashlight. He played the beam across the ground a few feet from the tree line. It was a popular vacation spot, so there was plenty of evidence of people trampling through the area. However, since it was the off season, none of it appeared to be fresh. "Any idea where the most direct route to the lake is?" he asked.

The cop motioned to his left. Dean went that way, examining the growth as he went. He stopped just short of where the cop pointed. Dropping down to one knee, he shone the light into one particularly dense bush. All the branches on one side were either broken or bent with fresh leaves on the ground. From a distance of a couple of feet, he found more signs of someone having been this way recently.

"Check that out," Dean told the cop. "The ends of these broken branches are still fresh. Now I can't promise it's the kid, but somebody went through there today, probably within the last hour or so."

The cop nodded at him. "I think that'll be good enough for the watch commander. Let's head back." Dean walked in step with the cop. "Cute girl you got there."

"Thanks." Dean shifted in his jacket. He hated conversations like this, because they usually went straight to either something about Rae's mother being a real looker or Rae turning into a knockout when she grew up. "She's really something."

"How old?" he asked.

"Just turned seven," Dean replied with a twinge of guilt.

The cop smiled at him. "My youngest, my girl, she's six. Keeps us on our toes. Don't know what we'd do without the boys to help keep an eye on her."

"How many kids do you have?" Dean asked. They were still out of earshot of the crowd.

"Four. Three boys and my wife finally got her girl." He chuckled. "Sometimes I think she regrets it. Boys really are easier. Oh, she was nothing to potty train, but since then?" He let out a low whistle. "Well, you know how it is, right? So you got a tomboy or a princess?"

Dean rubbed the back of his neck, considering that. "A little of both, I think. She loves the frilly pink stuff, but will crawl in the engine compartment to help with a tune-up in a heartbeat."

"Oh, yes. And I'm sure she's so much help," the cop laughed.

Dean shared the laugh. "I'm Dean, by the way," he said, offering his hand.

The cop took it a firm grip. "Harry. Now," he nodded toward the crowd still gathering in the parking lot, "let's go find this kid."

* * *

Gary did not understand how Dad got them across the lake like that, it was almost like magic, but it was cool. He had the absolute greatest Dad in the whole world. One part of his brain demanded to know what took Dad so long to finally come get him, but he refused to ask. Sometimes when he said something, Dad would take it the wrong way and he didn't want Dad to disappear again.

"Here we are," Dad told him. Dad gave his hand a little squeeze as he was led to a hill. Just behind some bushes and trees was a hole, like a small cave or tunnel. "In there."

Gary wondered if Dad had lost his mind. "In there what?"

Dad smiled again. "That's where the other kids are. Let's go play." His eyes lit up and Gary smiled back.

"Okay, Dad. If you say so." Dad made him go inside first, but that was probably because he was smaller. Dad was so big it had to be a tight squeeze. That was why Gary was surprised to hear Dad's voice in his ear almost immediately after entering the tunnel.

"Keep going," Dad said. "There's a turn to the left and then you'll see it."

Gary nodded in the darkness, but somehow he knew Dad could see it. He followed Dad's instructions, and the gentle pushes from behind, until they walked into a big open area. From the fresh air, Gary figured it opened to the outside from someplace. He knew he was right when he looked up and saw stars. The sides of this cave were really high. Inside it was just amazing. The light from the stars was bright enough to see by, much brighter than they were outside. There was a pond, clear and perfect for swimming. All the trees looked like perfect climbing trees and he saw tire swings. There was even one that looked like it could swing out over the pond. Some kids splashed around at the edge of the water.

"Isn't it past bedtime?" Gary asked softly.

Dad shook his head. "We don't have a bedtime here. When you get tired, you sleep. And, best of all, no school!"

Oh, man, did his wish on a falling star just get granted? Dad guided him over to the other kids. They all smiled and waved. Dad didn't even care if he got his clothes wet. This had to be the best day of his life! The only weird thing was when the other kids called his Dad "dad" too. Dad whispered in his ear that he was thinking of adopting the others, if Gary liked them. Dad wanted everyone to be able to get along. Well, Gary would have to think about that one. He kind of liked being an only child.

* * *

Bobby walked out to meet Dean and the cop just before they could reach the people gathered for the search party. "Well?" he demanded of Dean, ignoring the cop.

"Looks like he headed for the lake," Dean said in a low voice. He didn't care for that look on the boy's face, either. Dean clearly thought it was the work of the fossegrim and they wouldn't find the missing kid, at least not with the search party. Bobby pulled Dean to the side as the cop started directing the searchers.

"What do you think?" he asked.

Dean shot a furtive glance at the cop. "We'll have to try to stick to the front of the search parties, make sure nobody runs into it by accident. Maybe we'll even be able to figure out where it took the kid."

Bobby cleared this throat. "It headed toward the lake, right?" He waited for Dean to nod. "Then the kids won't be on this side. I doubt we'll find a safe way to check out the other side of the lake before morning. And," he paused for effect here, "I will not take Rae on that search. It's too dangerous." He prodded Dean in the chest. There had to be some way of getting past that thick Winchester skull.

"No, I don't want her there, either, Bobby. But the real question is, does she stay with Sam or you?" Dean shot him a hard look before turning around to take command of a search team the cop wanted to assign.

It took Bobby a minute to recover from that one. Yeah, okay, so he was trying to shut Dean out of this hunt. Was there really something wrong with that? Honestly, he would feel better if all the Winchesters stayed put in their room while he checked out the far side of the lake tomorrow. Unfortunately, since it already got the drop on him once, Bobby had to admit he just might need a little backup on this one.


	11. Ch11:Searching

**Chapter Eleven**

**Searching**

It had been really long for a short night. Sam tried to do the voices when he read to Rae, but he doubted she had even been paying attention. She stared toward the door until she fell asleep. Then she had some of the worst nightmares Sam could recall in recent months. He held and rocked her, using the same litany that worked before.

"It's okay. I got you. I'm here. I got you." Over and over he repeated it until Rae's cries subsided and her eyes opened, awake.

"You can read to me," she said. "Unless Dad is back?" She yawned broadly.

"Soon," Sam promised, though he had no idea when Dean would actually be back. He picked up The Wizard of Oz, hoping she would fall asleep again. He kept telling Dean that bad sleep was better than no sleep, but Sam never realized that bad sleep for Rae meant no sleep for Dean. Sam swore to himself if she started having nightmares about witches or flying monkeys, Sam would use this book the same way Dean had Alice in Wonderland. Maybe he should have actually read these books before pushing them on Dean and Rae. Surely some of those Little House or Little Women, or whatever they were, books were better. He would do some research on that later. How the hell some books got branded as a children's 'classic' were beyond him.

Sam paused before he started reading again. "Rae? You do sleep better with Dean, right? I mean, you don't wake up this much every night, do you?"

Rae shook her head, snuggling up closer. "Nah. Usually Daddy makes me sleep more."

"Makes you sleep more?" Sam asked, brushing sweaty hair off her forehead. "What's that mean?"

Rae shrugged. "He doesn't let the bad things get me. I'm safe with Dad."

"Yeah," Sam agreed, remembering many a night where Dean helped him sleep, both as a kid and an adult, "I know what you mean."

"Uncle Sam?" Rae sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Who was your mom?"

"What?" Sam asked. Now that was just too far from left field. Were all kids like this?

"Who was your mom?" Rae repeated, as if it were the most natural question in the world. "Dad said your mom died when you were a baby, so who was your mom growing up?"

"I, uh, just didn't have one," he replied. "It was just me, Dean and our dad. Not everybody has to have a mom, Sunshine," Sam tried to assure her. She gave him the oddest look, though, making him wonder what exactly was going through her mind.

Eventually Rae shrugged. "So are you going to read or do I get to watch my shows?"

Sam checked his watch. It was nearly six-thirty. "Might as well get up," he replied, setting the book aside, "unless you think you might be able to sleep more if I read?"

Rae shook her head. "I'll wait for Dad. No offense, Uncle Sam, but Dad is better at night stuff."

Sam smiled at her. "No offense. It's nice to finally find something Dean's better at."

"Ha, ha." She rolled her eyes at him. "I'm telling that you said that." The television flickered to life.

Sam contemplated showering, but Rae really didn't react well to even being in a room alone. Deciding to kill time until Dean showed up, Sam returned to his research from last night. He was still at it when the door opened.

Dean, covered in bits of twig, leaves and dried mossy stuff off trees, entered the room. Sam let out a breath of relief. Dean met his eyes and shook his head. So, no sign of the missing kid.

"Daddy!" Rae squealed as she charged across the room. Dean dropped down to give her a huge hug.

"You'll need a bath now," Dean said with his chin resting on her head, "I'm filthy."

"Nah!" Rae grinned as she bounded back to the television. "Go ahead, I'm watching my show." She waved a hand in their direction. They now had permission to take turns showering.

"Dean?" Sam stopped his brother just before Dean disappeared behind the bathroom door. Dean turned weary eyes on him. "Where's Bobby?"

"His room," Dean replied. "He'll be by after he washes up and grabs a quick nap."

Sam nodded. "Why don't you shower first?" he suggested. "You reek."

Dean gave him that little grin as he shook his head. "If it's all the same to you, Sam, I just want to sit here for a few minutes." He sat at the table opposite Sam, staring right at Rae. "You go ahead."

Sam glanced over his shoulder where Rae sat watching cartoons, oblivious to Dean's distress. Figuring Dean might need a few minutes to pull himself together, Sam headed for the shower. As the warm water beat down on his back, Sam heard the front door open. "Dean?"

No answer. Concerned, he turned off the water. "Hey! Dean!"

Silence. "Rae?"

The continued silence was deafening. His heart pounding in his chest, Sam rushed to pull dry jeans on his wet body. He threw open the bathroom door as he put on his shirt. The motel room was empty. Sam shoved wet bare feet into his sneakers as he reached for the door. It opened before he could reach it and Dean stood framed in the doorway.

"Damn it, Dean!" Sam exploded. "Why didn't you tell me you were going out?" He looked down but Rae did not hover by his brother's legs.

"Uh, Sam?" Dean's brow furrowed. Bobby appeared right behind Dean in the doorway, covered in just as much grime. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Sam froze, his eyes pinned to Bobby. His heart stuck in his throat and time slowed almost to a standstill. Infinitely slow, Dean's hand moved in front of his face. "Sa-a-a-m-m?"

Sam had to shake off the stupor. "You weren't just here?" he demanded, shoving Dean and Bobby aside to step outside.

"Uh, what are you talking about?" Dean asked from behind him. "Where's Rae?"

Sam spun around. "You were here not five minutes ago, with Rae."

He watched as all the color left his brother's face.

"Sam," Bobby said slowly, "I've been with Dean for the past three hours. We just got here."

"Which way?" Sam demanded, eyes scanning the area around the motel. "Toward the lake?"

He was answered by the heavy thuds of Dean's boots against the pavement. Sam followed closely, not worried about Bobby. If the older guy could keep up, fine, but there was no way they could afford for anyone to slow them down. Not now.

* * *

Rae had to run to keep up with Dad. "Where are we going, Daddy?" she asked again.

"I told you," he said as he tugged her along, "to that great play place I found."

"I don't understand why we couldn't wait for Uncle Sam." Rae tripped again. "Can't we slow down? A little?"

"No," Dad snapped. "We're in a hurry."

"Why?" Rae demanded as she ran alongside Dad. "Is it going to disappear?"

Dad kind of laughed, but he didn't sound happy. "What about Uncle Sam?" she asked. "Why couldn't we wait for him?"

Dad kept walking really fast. They reached the lake. Dad stopped and looked down at her. "Ready to see something really cool?" He grinned that smile that made her feel safe.

Rae shrugged. "I guess."

Dad's grin widened into a huge smile. He got down on his knees and pointed to his back. "Climb on. We're going across the lake."

Rae stared at Dad. He had to be kidding. She looked across the lake and it looked really far. "Can't we just drive around? We have a car."

"What's wrong?" Dad asked, the smile fading.

Rae sighed, hoping this would not disappoint Dad. "You've never even taken me swimming before Dad, and now you want me to swim across a lake? That's crazy. No offense."

Dad sighed, real deep. "Rae. Climb on."

"You still haven't told me why we couldn't wait for Uncle Sam," Rae said with her arms crossed over her chest. This was really weird. Dad never did anything without telling Uncle Sam first, unless it was part of a joke.

Now Dad scowled at her, and it was pretty scary. "Fine. Then we do it the hard way." He sounded different, too. Rae watched, terrified, as Dad scooped her up. He tossed her over his shoulder and walked into the water. Rae clutched at Dad's shirt, hanging on like her life depended on it. The splashing stopped after a few minutes. She looked around. It looked like they were surrounded by water, like they were inside the lake! Rae squeezed her eyes closed again as a fish swam near her head. It had to be a dream or something, because she didn't feel wet. Rae tried taking a deep breath. Yep, there was air, too. She was dreaming. When she woke up, Dad would be back and she would not have to listen to Uncle Sam read anymore. His voices for the characters sucked.

* * *

Dean plowed through the underbrush in the most direct route for the lake. As he broke through the tree line, he thought he saw something in the water. Dean stared as a ripple appeared. It headed against the wind across the lake.

"It has her," Dean breathed. He dropped to his knees by the water. "It has her."

He felt Sam stand beside him, but his brother said nothing. Sam probably blamed himself for not realizing it was the fossegrim. Dean wanted to say something, to let Sam know that he wasn't to blame, but forming words or even coherent thoughts at the moment were impossible.

"You boys gonna stand around here all day?" Bobby's gruff voice came from behind him. "Or are we going to go find that girl of yours?"

Dean turned slowly, tearing his eyes from the ripple in the lake. He knew the voice, but the words made no sense. "What?"

Bobby approached slowly and one hand gripped his shoulder. "I said, do you want to stare at the lake all day or go find Rae?"

Dean waited a moment before answering, to be sure he understood. Bobby wanted to go look for Rae. He pointed at the lake. "It has her."

Bobby went down on one knee. "Yeah, Dean. I know. But it's taking her someplace, where it's keeping the other kids. That has to be on the other side of the lake. We just need to find it."

Did that make sense? What did they need to find? Wasn't it Sam's job to figure this crap out? Dean turned to look up at Sam. "Sam? What do we do?"

Sam had that devastated look on his face. He bent over and hauled Dean to his feet. Damn, little brother was strong. "We go find her."

Dean was barely aware of the fact Sam had a hand on one of his arms while Bobby had him by the other arm. They rushed back to the motel. Sam pushed him into the passenger seat of the Impala. Dean stared out the window as Sam raced his car on the open road toward the other side of the lake. He pulled out his handgun. Since Sam was driving, Dean had plenty of time to check his clip. He knew Sam was sending anxious, worried glances his way, but Dean could not worry about that right now. He would worry about that later, after they found Rae.


	12. Ch12:Don't Stop Believin'

Thanks again, Tona!! As always, this story is for you.

**Chapter 12**

**Don't Stop Believin'**

Rae kept her eyes closed. She figured the less she saw, the less she would have nightmares about later. Finally she felt her body lowered until her feet touched the ground. Now, if she had had her eyes open, she might have known which way to run. Yep, keeping her eyes closed was a bad plan after all.

She opened her eyes slowly, hoping they were not underwater. It was dark.

"Come on, Sunshine," Dad's voice said.

Rae dug both her heels in the dirt. That was not Dad. Dad was pretty amazing, but even he couldn't make her breathe underwater.

"Aren't you coming?" he asked. Rae shook her head. She didn't talk to strangers, especially strange _things_. "Again with the hard way." Its voice changed, sounded less like Dad. It picked her up again and carried her through the dark. Soon they came to a big place, like a cave with light.

Rae took a good look around as it set her on her feet again. Weird. There was a lake and a whole bunch of trees. Sunlight streamed in from a hole in the top of the cave. Huh. The thing had a convertible cave. Who woulda guessed? Uncle Sam, she hoped.

Other kids waved and ran over. Most of them called it 'dad.' Rae wondered how it could trick everybody like that at the same time. Maybe it was kind of like the Tin Woodman, it was just one of those things that didn't make much sense.

Rae tried to head back the way they came in, but the thing looking like her dad stopped her. Frustrated, she sat by the tree closest to the exit. Some of the other kids tried to talk to her, even invited her to play. Their games were stupid. Uncle Sam had better games than that.

She kept her eyes on the exit. Sooner or later they would stop paying attention to her, and then she would be able to sneak out. If she could escape from those scary people, a bunch of kids and a weird look-a-like _thing_ shouldn't be too much trouble. Rae kept telling herself that as she waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Dad better be coming.

--

Sam jumped out of the Impala before Bobby's car could come to a stop. He raced around to help Dean out, but his brother beat him to it. Dean still had that blank expression that sent chills down his spine.

"Where's Bobby?" Dean asked, his voice flat and devoid of any emotion. Sam jerked his head towards Bobby's car. Dean walked around him to the trunk. He pulled out both rocksalt shotguns, handed one to Sam. Then he pulled out two hunting knives, again handing one to Sam. "What do we need to kill it, Bobby?" Dean continued to root in the weapons locker.

Bobby gave Sam a questioning look, but Sam could only shrug in response. "I'm not really sure," Bobby said and Sam could hear the caution in the man's voice, "but since it's a water creature, fire may be our best bet."

Without speaking, Dean nodded as his hand shifted through more weapons. Eventually he came up with three flare guns, which he passed out. Bobby gave Dean a strange look.

"Works on Wendigos, why not a fossegrim." It didn't sound like a question, so neither he nor Bobby answered. "Where do we start?"

Dean seemed to be on automatic. Any direction or order from Bobby was followed instantly. If Sam deviated from Bobby's instructions, he received a slap to the head and a warning glare. It was an awful lot like hunting with Dean and Dad.

--

The other kids were whispering about the new girl, the one who wouldn't talk to anyone. Gary wondered why Dad would have brought her here. She didn't seem to want to be here. After Dad came back with an armload of fish, he was teaching them how to live off the land, Gary spotted his chance to talk to Dad alone. Dad was gutting and cleaning the fish. Most of the other kids thought that was gross and didn't want to learn how to do it just yet.

Gary grabbed a dead fish and a thin knife. He watched Dad carefully before cutting into his fish. "Dad? Can I ask you a question?"

Dad's hands were fast and steady as he cleaned fish after fish. Dad would probably finish the rest before Gary could do this one. "Sure, son. Fire away."

"What's with her?" Gary asked, pointing out the girl sulking near the entrance.

Dad shrugged. "I've been wondering that too. After all she's been through, I thought she'd be the happiest here."

Gary shoved the fish guts into Dad's pile so he could start scaling. "What do you mean? After all she's been through?"

Dad grinned at him. "I always did like that curiosity of yours, Gary. Need any help with that fish?"

Gary shook his head. "Nah. I'm almost done."

Dad watched him finish. When he was done, Dad said, "Come on. I think you need to cook that fish yourself."

Gary grinned, until he realized that the new girl still hadn't moved from her tree. "What about her?"

Dad shook his head. "Maybe if she goes hungry for a little while, she'll come around."

"Yeah. Okay, Dad. Whatever you say." Gary followed. Cooking his fish all by himself was really fun. He was halfway through eating when Dad announced he had to go run an errand. All the kids groaned about Dad leaving, but he ran a hand over each kid's head. Gary noticed that Dad stopped by the new girl on his way out, but she wouldn't even look at Dad.

He looked down at the rest of the fish on his plate. "I'm going to check on the new girl." That earned him some teasing remarks to his back, which Gary ignored. They'd be sorry when Dad got back. Dad would only adopt them if Gary liked them, anyway.

The girl glanced up briefly before she looked over at the entrance hole again. Gary sat beside her. "Fish?" he asked, holding his plate out to her. She refused to look at him. "Come on, I cooked it myself. It's good."

She scowled at the plate and crossed her arms over her chest. Gary sighed. "You're going to starve, kid. You don't want to starve, do you?" He shoved the plate into her lap. "Don't make me shove it in your mouth, too."

She cut her eyes at him. A thin grin flashed across her face. She slowly reached out to pinch a little fish off and stuff it in her mouth.

"Pretty good huh? Maybe I'll be a fish chef when I grow up," Gary said, smiling at her.

She rolled her eyes, but she ate another bite. Gary continued to encourage her to finish off his fish. The way her eyes kept straying to the entrance was concerning, but Gary figured he would keep an eye on her. That comment of Dad's was strange enough to make him wonder. Why would she be the one happiest here? Even after she finished eating, he continued to sit by her.

"You want to leave, don't you?" Gary finally asked. She shot him a hard look before giving him a quick nod. "Why? Don't you think this is amazing? Isn't it everything you ever wanted? We don't even have a bedtime here."

She scowled at him again, shaking her head with her arms crossed tight against her chest. Gary sighed at her, not understanding. "Don't you talk at all?"

She rolled her eyes before closing them. He tried to talk to her a few more times but it was like talking to a brick wall. Huh. So that's what Mom meant by that. That thought made him homesick. The more the thought about Mom, the worse he felt. He leaned back against the tree next to the girl. "I kind of miss having a bedtime," he admitted softy. "But don't tell them."

The girl's eyes opened and he was rewarded with another little grin. She glanced at the entrance again, then at him.

Gary squirmed, uncomfortable. "I don't know," he whispered back. "Dad won't like it."

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head at him like he was the biggest idiot in the world.

"Maybe you should try to sleep," Gary suggested as he stood up. "It's getting late. If you get scared, I like to sleep over there." He got another scowl for that.

Gary lay awake, staring at the stars and thinking about his mom. When he heard soft snoring from the other kids, he rolled over to check on the new girl. She wasn't by her tree. Assuming she slipped to the ground when she fell asleep, Gary decided to check on her. He slunk away from the other kids, careful not to wake them. When he reached the girl's tree, Gary couldn't find her. He thought maybe she moved further away to sleep. He searched the far side of the cave, near the entrance, but he couldn't find the girl.

Gary paced near the entrance, debating on whether to go look for the missing girl by himself or if he should wake some of the other kids to help. If Dad was here, he would know what to do. On the one hand, Gary thought most of the other kids were jerks. They whined all the time and expected to always get their way. On the other hand, going by himself meant going by himself. Alone. In the dark. Man, he missed Mom.

Pretty sure she would go out the entrance, Gary pushed through the small hole. It seemed even smaller now than when he came in and he very nearly got stuck in it. Gary had to wait a while for his eyes to adjust to the dark while his heart pounded painfully in his chest. They left without even telling Mom. She was probably looking all over for him, maybe even called the police. Oh, man, did he make her cry? Gary hated it when Mom cried. It made him feel sick all over.

Once his eyes adjusted to the dark, Gary could see faint light coming from dead ahead. He followed it, stumbling in the dark. Trying not to think of what he might be stumbling over and hoping it was just stuff like tree roots, Gary plunged ahead through the narrow tunnel. Finally he found the hole out. He had to squeeze through it. Again it seemed much smaller going out than it did coming in. Weird.

Outside, Gary had no idea which way the girl might have gone. Now he wished he had taken Mom up on her offer to let him stay in Boy Scouts. At the time, it meant a different troop and without Dad, so he refused. Now it would mean maybe he could figure out where the heck that girl went. She was probably lost and scared.

"Little girl?" Gary called out softly. "Hey, little girl? Where are you?" The path from the hole led straight to the lake. He squinted in the moonless night, but he couldn't make anything out. There wasn't anyone at the edge of the lake, where he expected to see the girl. He continued to call out to her as he searched, unwilling to go in to the woods because he would probably get so lost even Dad wouldn't be able to find him.

After a long walk along the lake, must have been hours, Gary had the creepy feeling that he was being watched. He stopped a couple of times, but he never could figure out what it was. Finally he decided it was too much imagination.

"Yeah, that's it," he said to hear the sound of his own voice, "I'm imagining things. Just scaring myself, that's all." He laughed at himself. "Some little kid went and got me lost out here. Dad will probably never let me hear the end of this one."

Then he heard it. It was a click, a definite click. Not the sound of branches breaking or twigs snapping, but a metal sound. And it was close, like right by his head. Gary froze, knowing the instant he heard it that it was a bad sound, the kind of sound they used in the movies to stop the bad guy in his tracks. He turned his head, real slow.

A man stood right behind him. Gary never heard the guy, just the click. The man was big, seemed to fill the whole sky where he stood, but then maybe that was his imagination again. The man held a gun and it pointed right at Gary's head. That might be what made the man seem so big.

"Where is she?" he asked in a low growl. Gary swallowed hard. His mouth and throat were suddenly so dry he doubted he could make a sound if he wanted. The man moved closer, still totally silent. The gun was so close to his head, Gary felt his eyes crossing to look at it. "I said, where is she?"

Gary swallowed again, trying real hard to talk. "Who?" The word squeaked out like he was about four.

"Rae," he hissed.

"Don – don't know him," Gary whispered, his whole body trembling now.

"Her." A hand grabbed him roughly by the collar. Gary felt himself being hauled up to look the man in the face, his feet dangling uselessly in the air. The cold metal from the gun pressed against one temple. The man looked like he thought Gary was about as important as a bug. "Where is she?"

Gary's mind raced for an answer that would let him live. None of the other kids were named Rae, he knew that. But this guy wanted to know about a girl. He didn't know the new girl's name. "Quiet?" he asked. "Brown hair? Brown eyes?"

The man nodded, his eyes hard and scary.

"She left," Gary told him, not proud of the way he sounded like he was begging. "I came to look for her."

Not letting go of his collar, the man lowered him until his feet touched the ground again. "Sam! Bobby!" The hand on his collar shifted, holding his whole shoulder now. Gary was pretty sure he couldn't get away now if he tried, and with the man holding that gun he sure wasn't going to try.

Two more men appeared out of the night, just as silent as this guy had been.

"What cha got, Dean?" One of them asked.

"Looks like a kid," the man holding him said, "not sure. Any way to tell, Bobby?"

Not sure about what? If he was a kid? It wasn't that dark.

"Holy water won't do it, they're water creatures. Give me a minute." The man called Bobby said.

"He wouldn't be able to breathe underwater," the other man suggested, who Gary assumed had to be Sam. He didn't like Sam.

The hand that had been holding the gun against his head moved to slap Sam in the shoulder, gun and all. Gary let out a breath of relief.

"Got a name, Kid?" Bobby asked, turning him around. Gary nodded. "So? Spill it."

"Gary," he said and was kind of proud that his voice sounded steady.

"What are you doing out here, Gary?" Sam demanded over Bobby's shoulder.

"The, uh, new girl. I guess she took off. I was worried about her," Gary explained.

"There is an adult around, right?" Bobby asked. "Most likely a man."

Gary nodded. "My dad. He isn't here right now."

"Well?" Dean growled again. This time the question wasn't directed at him, it was at Bobby.

Bobby held up a flashlight that he shined in Gary's eyes. It blinded him for a minute, made him see spots flashing in the night. "I think he's on the level. Gary? When did your dad show up? Was it last night after your mother sent you to get a new room card?"

Gary tried to blink away the spots. "Yeah. How'd you know?" He used one hand to rub his eyes. Gary didn't want to move the shoulder the scary guy, Dean, hung on to.

"Maybe one of us should take him back," Sam suggested. "Last I heard the paramedics had to sedate her because she was hysterical."

"Mom?" Gary asked. Fear for his mom started to seep in. "Are you talking about my mom? What's wrong with her? What paramedics?"

The hand holding his shoulder squeezed until it hurt. "You took off on her," Dean said softly. He bent over to talk right into Gary's ear. "What did you think? She was out celebrating that you disappeared?"

That voice caused guilt to come crashing down on Gary. He felt the hot tears pour out of his eyes, wash down his cheeks. Gary had been trying to avoid thinking about Mom since Dad came. This was why. Dad had told him not to worry, that Mom was fine. Why would Dad lie like that? Why?

"I'll take him," Bobby said, pulling him away from Dean. "You two find Rae before it does."

Gary let Bobby guide him through the woods to a couple of cars parked near the lake. Bobby put him in one. He didn't say anything as they drove to the motel. Gary just stared out the window, wondering how sick Mom was and thinking how it had to be his fault. The car was stopped for a while before Gary turned to look at Bobby. In the lights from the motel parking lot he could see Bobby looked kind of like his grandpa, just not as well dressed.

"Listen, kid," Bobby started, "you may not want to go spouting off about seeing your daddy. What you thought was him, wasn't. It just looked like your daddy."

Gary shook his head. "It's Dad. I know it is. It has to be. He knows me."

Bobby sighed. "Yeah, I know. But that don't make that thing your daddy." He shook his head. "Forget it. Should've let Sam have this talk with you. Come on, your momma's been worried sick."

They headed for one of the motel rooms. Even before Bobby knocked, Gary could hear someone crying inside. He recognized that crying, it was Mom. She sounded just like that every night for weeks after Dad moved out. Gary bit his lip as a stranger opened the door.

"Mom?"


	13. Ch13:Found

**Chapter Thirteen**

**Found**

Rae huddled at the base of a tree trying to hide in its shadow. It was too dark to find her way back to the lake, or the motel. She decided to wait for daytime so she could see. Once she thought she heard that older boy looking for her, but Rae was pretty good at hiding, especially in the dark. He walked right by her hiding place and never saw her. Rae smirked as his back disappeared in the dark. Stupid boy. He was going to get so lost.

She must have fallen asleep, because it was the sun that woke her up. Rae yawned and stretched. Her legs and back were sore from the way she was sleeping against the tree. She had to stand slowly if she didn't want to fall down. Standing very still, Rae listened to the sounds around her. She thought she heard water dead ahead and that meant the lake. The lake meant people which meant grown-ups, and through grown-ups she could find Dad and Uncle Sam.

Walking carefully, trying not to make any sound just in case that thing that looked like Dad was around, Rae tried to make her way to the lake. She heard something just behind her. Rae froze. She heard the sound again. With a quick glance around, Rae dove behind a bush to hide.

Heavy boots walked right by her hiding spot. Rae held her breath. It was the thing that looked like Dad! It knew she was gone and was looking for her. Oh, crap! She didn't know how long she could hold her breath like this and really hoped it would go look for her someplace else.

"Sammie Rae!"

It was creepy how it always sounded so much like Dad.

"Sammie Rae!"

That was a different voice and it sounded like Uncle Sam. Wait a minute, Uncle Sam never called her 'Sammie.'

Two men who were very familiar stood right beside her hiding spot. It looked like Dad and Uncle Sam.

"Now what, Sam?" Dad asked.

"Dean, you should go back to the car. Take a nap," Uncle Sam told him. Dad glared at Uncle Sam. "I'm just talking about twenty minutes. You look like crap."

"I am not leaving without Rae." Dad sounded scary like that.

"I didn't say we should leave," Uncle Sam argued. "I only suggested a nap. You don't want to? Fine. Forget I said anything."

"You go take a nap!" Dad snapped. He leaned against a tree and rubbed one hand over his face. "Damn it, Sammy. Why does this crap keep happening?"

Uncle Sam had this surprised look on his face. "Don't go there, Dean. We'll find her. She's going to be fine."

Rae figured out that all the kids in the convertible cave saw someone different when they looked at the thing that took them, but it was always just one person. It couldn't be pretending to be Dad and Uncle Sam at the same time. Could it? Maybe there were two things.

"Maybe she would be better off… With Dolan," Dad whispered.

Rae watched with wide eyes. Not Dolan! He smelled funny and he wasn't fun at all. Nobody could be better than her dad.

"Stop it!" Uncle Sam hissed, shoving Dad in the shoulders. "Don't talk that way!" Uncle Sam paced for a minute in front of Dad, then he stopped. Rae hoped Uncle Sam wasn't going to start a big fight. She didn't want to see that. "You're a great dad for Rae and if you mention, one more time, that she might be better off without you, I swear I'll…"

"Uncle Sam!" Rae couldn't take it any more. Even if it was the creature, she couldn't watch them fight, not right in front of her. Parents were supposed to sneak off to argue.

Dad spun around real fast. He looked right at her hiding place. "Rae?" he asked, his voice soft.

It could still be a trick, a trap. Rae scooted further back, until pricklies from the bush stuck into her back.

"Hey, hey," Dad said in that same soft voice, "it's okay. I promise."

Rae shook her head. Only her real dad could make a promise like that. She didn't know who or what this was. Uncle Sam took a couple of steps towards her, like he wanted to grab her. She pushed further back. The pricklies cut right into her back and arms, but Rae didn't care.

Dad held Uncle Sam back. "Don't. It's okay. Don't hurt yourself in there." Dad took a deep breath, let it out. "It's going to be the hard way, isn't it?" he asked.

Rae tensed, expecting the thing that looked like Dad to drag her out. This time she would go kicking and screaming, she promised herself. Then it did something really strange. It sat down and motioned for Uncle Sam to do the same. They sat there just looking at her. After a few minutes, Rae started to wonder what the thing was up to now. She gave it a confused look.

"We're just waiting until you're ready to go," Dad said. "Take your time."

"Yeah." Uncle Sam nodded his head, tiny bits of twigs and stuff falling out as his hair bounced around. "Whenever you're ready. We're not going anywhere without you."

"Dean! Sam!" Bobby shouted from someplace. Then he grumbled, "Where the hell did those boys get to?"

"Sam!" Dad hissed, waving Uncle Sam away.

Uncle Sam gave her a long look before he stood up. He took a couple of steps back. "I'm just going to get Bobby, make sure he doesn't come up behind you. Okay, Sunshine?"

Rae hugged her knees to her chest. After she nodded, Uncle Sam backed up a few more steps before turning around. He walked slowly in the direction of Bobby's yelling. "Over here, Bobby!"

Bobby wasn't nearly as quiet as Dad and Uncle Sam. He kicked his way past a nasty prickly bush to get to Uncle Sam. "Sam? What's going on?"

Rae couldn't hear what they said after that. She was pretty busy trying to figure out what the Dad-thing was up to. He just kept watching her, looking kind of sad. Uncle Sam finished talking to Bobby then he crawled over to sit beside Dad.

"Well?" Uncle Sam whispered. Dad shrugged. Uncle Sam let out a great big sigh. "Come on, Sunshine. Don't you want to go back and see Ted? Watch some of your shows?"

Dad elbowed Uncle Sam. "Shut up. She'll come out when she's ready."

Uncle Sam made a face and elbowed Dad back.

"Stop it," Rae told them.

Dad held up both hands. "We stopped. Honest. I know you hate it when we fight. No more fighting."

"Ever?" Rae asked. Well, it couldn't hurt to ask, right?

Uncle Sam made that funny smile. "You know we can't promise that."

Rae sighed, real disappointed. "If I come out, will I have to take a bath? Or brush my teeth?"

"Not right away," Uncle Sam said. "But eventually…"

"Yes," Dad interrupted. "As soon as we get back to the motel you are taking a bath, brushing your teeth, and you need to wash your hair. And I mean I want it brushed really good, it looks like birds have been nesting in there."

"Dean," Uncle Sam said slow and threatening.

Rae grinned real big, right from her heart. She leaped out of that stupid prickly bush right at Dad, wrapping her arms real tight around his neck. "Daddy!"

Dad's strong arms held her tight and safe. "I got ya," he whispered. "You're safe now."

Rae hung on tighter. She opened her eyes to see Uncle Sam watching them. Holding tight to Dad with one arm, she motioned to Uncle Sam with the other. He moved closer until she could hook that arm around his neck and pull him in close too. Rae hugged them for a real long time until Bobby talked.

"I really hate to break up this family reunion, but we still have a fossegrim to find," Bobby said.

Dad hugged her close as he stood up, still holding her. Rae had to let go of Uncle Sam, even though she really didn't want to. So she settled for holding Uncle Sam's hand. Uncle Sam smiled nice at her so she guessed he wanted to hold hands.

One of Dad's hands rubbed up and down her back. It kind of hurt when he knocked some of the pricklies out. Then she felt hands pulling the rest of the pricklies out of her back.

"How did you get out?" Dad asked. It had to be Uncle Sam getting the pricklies.

Rae hung on to Dad's neck tighter. Those pricklies stung! "I waited until those stupid kids fell asleep, then I crawled out the hole."

"What hole?" Uncle Sam asked.

"The hole from the convertible cave to the tunnel. Then there was a hole from the tunnel to outside," Rae explained.

"Okay, this may be a stupid question," Bobby said and he moved to stand behind Dad where Rae could see him, "but what's a convertible cave?"

"It's a cave with a big giant hole in the top," Rae told him. "Duh."

"Hey." Dad patted her back. "Be nice."

"Yes, sir." Rae grinned as she leaned her head against Dad's. Her back still stung a little, but she felt much, much better now. Uncle Sam held her hand again.

"Do you know where this convertible cave is?" Bobby asked.

Rae squinted through the trees around them. She shrugged. "I don't know. I got kind of lost last night so I decided to wait for the sun to come up."

She felt a noise in Dad's chest then one of his hands stroked her hair. "That's my girl," he whispered into her ear.

"Gary, the boy we found last night, he might have a better idea of where that cave is," Bobby said. "How about we go talk to him?"

Rae squeezed Uncle Sam's hand again. "Can we all stay together?" she asked. "It keeps tricking me."

"You'd better believe it," Dad said. Dad carried her through the woods.

"Dean?" Bobby called out. "Maybe you ought to call that cop, Harry. We might need a little backup on this one."

Dad scoffed real loud. "From a cop, Bobby? You serious?"

"Well, I just thought, maybe that a way you three wouldn't have to come back out here."

Dad stopped, right there in the middle of the woods. He just stopped. Uncle Sam almost ran into them 'cause he was following so close and holding Rae's hand. Rae saw Uncle Sam's eyes go wide and figured he looked about like she felt. Dad turned around real slow. Bobby was right behind Uncle Sam by then and Rae squirmed around so she could see what was going on.

"Maybe I will call him, Bobby. But we're all coming back here." Dad had that real serious look, like when he told Rae not to ever go out the door by herself. "All of us."

Rae nodded slow at Bobby, so he would understand that he needed to agree or Dad would be mad. Bobby frowned at her then at Dad. He looked at Uncle Sam next and Uncle Sam still had that funny big-eyed look. "Okay, Dean." Bobby shrugged. "It was just a thought."

Dad didn't say anything else about it, he just turned around and carried Rae back to the car. At the car he waited for Bobby to catch up.

"We're going back to the room and get cleaned up. Then I'll call Harry and we'll go talk to that kid from last night." Dad still sounded mad. Uncle Sam and Bobby agreed with him pretty quick-like.

In the car, buckled up between Dad and Uncle Sam, Rae felt nice and safe. She held one of Dad's hands and one of Uncle Sam's the whole drive back. Rae wondered if it were possible to miss anybody more than she missed Dad and Uncle Sam last night.


	14. Ch14: Home

Many of you seemed to like the 'awwwww' moments in the last chapter. Me too! Yeah, I'm a softie, just don't let it get out.

As always, this is for Tona, the biggest Sammie Rae fan ever!! If it weren't for her, there wouldn't be a second year story.

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Home**

Dean stood in the doorway to the bathroom feeling like an overprotective ass, but he really couldn't help it. Rae insisted. She didn't want him out of her sight, not after being tricked twice. If he had to be honest with himself, the fact she was so clingy made him feel better. The part that really made him feel good, though, was that she figured out on her own, both times, that it was not him. She had said it just wasn't enough like Dad. Yeah, he liked that.

"So now what?" Sam asked. He sat on the bed closest to the bathroom, his eyes darting that way every few seconds. It was also nice to see Sam just as freaked out as he was on this occasion.

"After I clean up, I'll call Harry while you shower. Then we get Bobby and go have a talk with that kid," Dean replied.

"You do know she's going to want to watch you shower," Sam pointed out.

Dean frowned. That sounded wrong in so many, many different ways. "Maybe she'll take your word for it."

Now Sam frowned. "Dude, that means I have to watch you shower. Get real."

Dean glared at his little brother. "You're already scarred for life. What's the difference?"

Sam's eyes rolled. "Fine. But if I have to watch, you're showering in your boxers. And I mean boxers, Dean!"

"Yeah, whatever," Dean chuckled. He nodded his head toward the shower where Rae had just started singing one of those Disney kid songs. "Can you believe she got away from it? Twice?"

Sam frowned again. "That's been bothering me. Why is it going to so much trouble to come for her? According to Rae there were plenty of other kids there, so it shouldn't be lonely." Sam paced the length of the motel room, glancing in the bathroom each time he passed. "Maybe Bobby's wrong and it isn't just lonely, maybe it has another agenda."

"A water wraith agenda?" Dean couldn't help but ask.

Sam's eyes rolled again. "Yeah, okay, fine. You were right. Happy?"

Dean shook his head. "Not really. Keep going. Another agenda?"

Sam's forehead creased and his pacing intensified. "It's selective. We know it doesn't go after kids with two parents living at home. It targets only children of single parents. Never siblings." Sam stopped to stare at the conglomeration of papers tacked to one wall. "Most of the missing kids had only one living parent." He tapped one of the pages with handwritten correlations. "No way."

"What?" Dean leaned away from the bathroom, squinting at the wall. "No way what?"

"Daddy!"

Dean leaned back toward the bathroom. "Still here! I haven't moved, I swear!"

A dripping wet hand appeared from behind the shower curtain. "No leaning, either!"

"Yes, ma'am," he grumbled.

Now her wet face with shampoo running down round cheeks peered around the plastic curtain. "I'm serious, mister!"

Dean waved a hand at her. "Just finish already! I'm getting tired of standing here."

"Okay, okay!" Rae went back under the shower spray. "Don't get your panties in a twist."

Dean's mouth fell open as he stared at the shower in shock. "What?!"

"Nothing! Nothing!" Rae hollered back.

Sam's chuckle resounded in the otherwise silent motel room. Dean shifted his glare to his brother. "Don't think I don't know, either," he warned.

Sam put on his best innocent face, the one that made him look like that college student he pretended to be for nearly four years. "Know what?" The sugary sweet voice just clenched it.

"She gets that from you," Dean said.

"But Dean," Sam protested, "that sounds more like something you'd say. Why do you think it would come from me?"

"Because," Dean could hear the growl in his voice, "I know you."

Sam rolled his eyes, turning back to the wall. His shoulders hunched in that way that meant Sam was really thinking. Dean waited, feeling antsy as the water stopped. He glanced quickly into the bathroom. Rae snagged the clean towel off the toilet. Looking back, Sam's shoulders hunched further over.

"What is it, Sam?" Dean asked again.

Sam shook his head, waving a hand behind him. He wanted time to think. Dean rolled his eyes. Rae brushed past him, dressed with wet hair dripping down on her clean shirt. She stood just off to the side.

"Okay, Dad. Your turn. I'll watch to make sure it doesn't switch places with you," she said.

Dean glared daggers into Sam's back. Sam spun around, startled, like he felt that. "Oh, uh, Rae? Go watch your shows. I'll watch over Dean in the shower."

Rae scowled. "Nope, I don't like it." Her arms crossed defiantly over her chest.

Sam was beside Rae in two quick strides. He scooped her up in his arms and deposited her on Dean's bed. "I said I'll watch him. Go entertain yourself." There was a quality to his tone, a hardness, Dean hadn't heard directed at Rae before.

He watched, curious. Rae glared at Sam for a moment before shrugging her shoulders. "Like what?"

"You do have schoolwork," Sam pointed out.

She sighed. "You know, maybe I will find a show to watch."

Sam turned to grin triumphantly at Dean. "What are you waiting for? Get your boxers."

Dean shook his head as he gathered his things for his shower. There were things in this world he would never understand, and that moment was one of them. He left it that way, taking it for the opportunity that it was.

--

Sam felt strange showering with his brother 'standing guard,' as Rae put it. Usually the shower was the one place he had to be alone, away from his family. Everyone needed a little 'me' time, maybe Sam more than others. Dean didn't seem to require a lot. Rae couldn't stand to be alone. Okay, so as usual, he was the odd man out in the family. That just meant that Rae and Dean wouldn't understand later when he got a little snippy, which always happened when he didn't get enough 'me' time. Not today, Sam told himself, I need to be good today.

Over the rush of the water, Sam could make out Dean's voice. Probably calling that cop, he decided. He wondered what the cop would make of their 'lead' on the missing kids. Well, people who didn't understand the darker side to the world usually made up their own explanations anyway. No problem. Dean's conversation stopped.

"Is he coming?" Sam shouted over the sound of the shower.

"In about an hour," Dean shouted back.

Sam ducked his head to rinse out the shampoo. He had to wash his hair three times to get all the crap from the woods out. Maybe it would be easier if he just cut it shorter.

He turned off the water and reached for his towel, which was not where he left it. Sam peered around the shower curtain. Dean stood looking in to the room, probably at Rae. Sam glanced around. No towels, not even on the towel rack. "Dean!"

Dean jumped, pretending to be startled. Yeah, right. "What, Sam?"

"Where the hell are the towels?" Sam demanded.

The innocent face, that one that actually worked on strangers, blossomed. "What are you talking about?"

Sam gritted his teeth. "I swear, Dean, if you don't give me a clean towel, and I mean now, I'm coming out to get one."

Dean grinned, wide and broad, like that had been the plan all along.

"Butt naked right in front of your daughter," Sam said in a low, threatening voice.

Now Dean really did look startled. He bent out of sight, returning with a white motel towel in one hand. He tossed it at Sam. "Dude, relax. It was just a joke."

"Wasn't funny," Sam snapped. After Sam dried off and wound the towel around his waist, he noticed that Dean was still sporting a strange look. "What?"

Dean glanced back toward Rae, watching television, before facing Sam again. He shrugged. "I dunno. I guess it's just, you know, the first time you've said that."

Sam cocked an eyebrow at his brother. "You're looking all weirded out because it's the first time I've threatened to parade naked in front of Rae?" Really, figuring out the way his brother's mind worked would probably put trained professionals in therapy.

Dean shook his head with a loud sniff. "Forget it. Just get dressed. Do I need to put the kid in the bathroom, give you a little privacy?"

Sam stared at his brother for a moment. What the hell was that? Deflection? About what? Seriously, what the hell? Sam stalked off to his corner of the room to pull out clean, dry clothes. He dropped his wet boxers from under the towel, still trying to figure that one out. As he buttoned up his jeans, it hit him. He had never referred to Rae as Dean's daughter before. It had been almost a year since she joined their family, and it took him that long to actually use those words. That would also explain the wide-eyed look Rae gave him when he demanded to know what 'Dad' said, the first time the fossegrim came after her. He didn't usually call Dean 'dad' either. Actually, that was probably also a first.

Considering he was the one who had rallied around 'normal,' he sure had issues when it came to adapting to something other, normal, people did every day. Like adoption. Shit. Okay, did they need to talk about it, or could Sam just pretend he had always accepted their family totally and completely? Yeah, he liked that second option.

"What about Bobby?" Sam asked as he pulled on a shirt. "Is he coming to see the kid?"

"Yeah," Dean wasn't giving him the weird look anymore. "He should be here any…"

A knock interrupted his brother. Dean grinned as he pulled the door open. "Minute."

Bobby stood in the doorway. "Ready?" he asked.

Dean motioned for Bobby to come in. "We will be. I want to check Rae's back, make sure Sam got all the thorns out."

Sam slapped himself in the forehead. "Crap, with all the guard duties, I completely forgot. Hang on while I grab the first aid kit."

"No!" Rae's voice echoed in the motel room. She raced, panting, to stand between him and the door.

Dean and Bobby reflected the exact same confusion Sam was experiencing. What the hell? Dean gave him one of those wide-eyed looks, like Sam might actually have a clue about this. Give him the laptop and a couple of days, he might be able to get back to you on that one, but no promises. Dean shrugged, going down on his knees so he was eye-level with the kid.

Rae's face was blotchy red and she was panting. Loud. It kind of reminded Sam of a woman they saved from a poltergeist once. She had been so scared she couldn't even remember her own name.

"Rae?" Dean moved forward slowly, like she might bolt. Sam was reasonably sure she wouldn't. Bolting meant being alone and Rae didn't 'do' alone. "What's wrong?"

Rae shook her head. "Uncle Sam can't go outside! Not by himself! It might get him or… or… LOOK like him!"

Sam was pretty sure it wouldn't look like him, the fossegrim's pattern was to take on the appearance of the missing father. Then again, they really only had two cases to go by on that. Maybe the kid had a point after all.

"You want me to go out to the car with him?" Dean asked reasonably. "Bobby can stay here with you."

Rae's head shook, sending droplets of water cascading through the air and landing on each of them. Dean wiped off his face, but other than that he seemed unfazed. "It might BE Bobby!"

Dean opened his mouth, presumably to argue, then closed it. He turned to give Bobby a really long look. "Sam, get your cell."

Totally confused, Sam did as he was told. Those trained professionals were going to have a field day with him when he finally wound up in one of those nice rooms with the padded walls. "Got it," he said, holding it up.

Dean stood facing Bobby, his body directly between their old friend and Rae. Sam started to question it, but then he got it. Bobby actually _could_ be the fossegrim, especially if his theory was right.

"Call him," Dean said. The tone was steady and even, but Sam could hear the steel in it. Dean was preparing to do some serious bodily harm to somebody who looked an awful lot like Bobby. Sam hoped Bobby thought to bring the cell. He really did. A mistake now would mean… well, it wouldn't be pretty. Sam was sure of that much. Sam pressed Bobby's number on speed-dial.

It took almost a full minute before he heard ringing on his end. Immediately after that, a soft humming noise filled the dead silence in the room. Dean let out a long, loud breath. Bobby pulled the cell phone out of a pocket and held it up for verification.

"We need a friggin' password or something," Dean muttered as he moved over to sit on the bed.

"That's not a bad idea," Bobby replied with a nod. Sam wondered over the fact Bobby appeared amused and not offended.

"So it's really Bobby?" Rae asked, still in the same spot. "You're sure?"

Dean just nodded, apparently not up to talking much yet. "We're sure," Sam confirmed. "How about if Bobby escorts me to the car and back? That way you can stay here and take care of," he paused before saying it and hated himself for the pause, "your dad."

Oh, but it was so worth the nasty look Dean shot him!

Once they were allowed to leave the room, it didn't take Sam and Bobby long to retrieve the first aid kit.

"If I'd known, I would've brought mine," Bobby grumbled as they headed back to the room.

"You think this is bad?" Sam asked. "I had to watch Dean shower, to make sure he wasn't replaced while he was in the bathroom."

Bobby paused just outside the door. He turned and met Sam's eyes. "We have'ta get this thing, Sam. This isn't healthy."

Sam stood stunned just outside the room for a moment. This wasn't healthy? _This?_ Did Bobby miss the entire past year of their lives?

Rae glared suspiciously at them as Sam followed Bobby inside. "Well?" she demanded, hands on hips. "Did anything weird happen outside?"

Sam shook his head. "Nothing weird, Sunshine," he promised with a smile.

The stern look fell from her face and her eyes darted to the first aid kit. "What do you need that for?" she asked in a hushed voice. "Nobody's hurt."

"Come on, you!" Dean scooped her up from behind. "We just need to check out where those thorns got you."

Rae shook her head. "Fine. I'm fine."

Sam chuckled. Dean shot him a questioning look. Sam shrugged. "Sounds familiar, that's all."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Come on, shirt off," he demanded.

Rae's cheeks flushed pink. "What if I just pull it up?" she whispered, glancing at Bobby. She turned around, raising her shirt up on her back. "Like this?"

Dean let loose a really wide eyeroll at that, but he didn't say anything. Sam followed his lead in not commenting. One thorn required the tweezers, but that was it. There were little red marks all over her back, though. Dean didn't seem to think the shower got them clean enough, so he used an alcohol wipe across her entire back. Then he used the last of the antibiotic cream.

"We'll have to stop and get more," Dean said as he tossed the crushed, empty tube into the wastebasket.

"Later," Bobby insisted. "Can we go talk to that kid now? Please? While he's still young?"

Dean pulled Rae's shirt down gently, like she might break. "Ready?" he asked softly.

Rae held both arms up. Dean leaned right down into them and she held on tight to his neck as he picked her up. If this kept up, Dean was going to have the neck muscles of a football player. Seriously.


	15. Ch15:It's What Parents Do

**Chapter Fifteen**

**That's What Parents Do**

Rae clung to Dad's neck as they headed to another room. She guessed, from listening to Dad, Uncle Sam and Bobby, that they found the stupid boy who followed her last night. Well, at least they found her, too. Maybe if she hadn't waited for daylight they would have found her first. Well, Dad said she did the right thing, even if it took a little longer.

They stopped and Bobby knocked on a door. It squeaked when it opened. Rae decided that she didn't need to see who opened it, Dad would make sure it was all okay.

"Yes? Oh, Mister Singer! It's you!" a woman's voice said. She sounded real happy. "I'm so glad you came back so we can thank you properly. Who's this with you?"

"Uh, well," Bobby stuttered a little. "We found this little girl here in the same woods where we found your boy. On the other side of the lake. I was kind of hoping you'd let us talk to him for a bit. There might be other kids lost out there."

She heard the woman gasp. People really did that, it wasn't just in books. "Come in. Please, come in. Gary is right here."

Dad walked into the room still carrying her.

"You all look so…clean," she said.

"Had to make sure she wasn't hurt," Uncle Sam said. Rae hid her smile at the way he said that. He sure sounded worried, like a mom.

"Gary, honey, turn that off," she said.

"Hey, is that the kid?" the stupid boy asked. Yep, he was really stupid. Rae turned in Dad's arms to roll her eyes at him. "Yeah, it is her," he said. "Mom, remember, I told you about her? She was the one who took off and I was worried about her?"

His mom looked like a nice lady. Why would he go off with that thing? She ran a hand through his hair with a big smile. "That was very good of you, Gary."

Gary. He even had a stupid name. His cheeks got kind of red and he shrugged. "Whatever."

"We'd like to hear about this convertible cave," Bobby said. He stared right at that stupid boy.

Gary got all confused. "What's a convertible cave?"

Bobby looked at her kind of funny before explaining, "It's a cave with a big giant hole in the top." He looked at Rae again before adding, "Duh."

Gary stared at her for a while before he talked again. "You mean she does talk? For real?"

"Consider yourself lucky," Uncle Sam said and Rae had a sinking feeling, "once you get her to start, she's hard to stop."

Dad laughed a little at that. Rae hit him, not hard, on the shoulder. Dad laughed louder. "Well, he's got you there, Rae."

She stuck her lower lip out and glared at them all. Not fair to tease her with strangers in the room. She couldn't even defend herself.

"Uh, can I talk to her?" Gary asked. Everyone got real quiet. It sounded like that empty church Uncle Sam took her to once. "Just for a minute."

Rae looked at Dad. "Only if you want to," he said. That made her feel better. "We can go stand by the door. Won't even be out of sight."

Rae thought real hard about that. The stupid kid did share his dinner with her. Maybe she owed him one. She whispered in Dad's ear, "You won't leave? Not even for a teensy second?"

Dad shook his head. "Promise."

Rae smiled, because Dad always kept his promises. She nodded and Dad lowered her to the floor. She watched carefully as the adults all went to stand by the door. Bobby talked to Gary's mom and Dad and Uncle Sam just watched her. Probably wanted to be sure Gary wasn't one of those things, either. Good.

She looked at Gary, stupid kid, and waited. The thing that stuck kids in a convertible cave wasn't going to wait all day on them, people.

Gary got down on his knees, the way Dad did earlier, but he was way shorter. On his knees his head was about to her chest and he looked kind of funny that way. She giggled a little bit at him. Just a little.

"It looked like your dad too, didn't it?" Gary whispered. Rae nodded, slow. Gary chewed on his bottom lip, rocking back to sit on his feet. Rae waited.

"How did you know?" he whispered, glancing at the adults. "You knew it wasn't your dad. I know you knew. How?"

Rae thought about it, but she couldn't really tell him. She just knew, that was all. So she shrugged.

He sighed. Then his eyes narrowed on her. "Okay, how about this. How did you know that guy was your dad, the real one?"

That was easy. Rae grinned because she knew the answer. Then she realized that she might have to talk to him. Well, she needed to. He was so stupid he was never gonna figure it out for himself. So she whispered right in his ear, "He told me I had to take a shower and wash my hair."

Gary pulled back and looked really hard at her. "That all?" he finally asked.

Rae shook her head, motioning for him to come close again so she could whisper. "I also had to brush my teeth," she whispered.

Gary's eyebrows pulled right together, the way Uncle Sam's did, making a big line between his eyes. "I don't get it," he said slowly, "what's the big deal about that?"

Rae groaned, stomping one foot. Seriously, this guy was an idiot! "That's what parents do!" she hissed angrily.

"That's what parents do?" he asked, like she just told him he could jump off the roof and fly. "Make you brush your teeth and take a shower and…wash your…hair." Rae imagined she could see the light bulb appear over stupid boy's head.

"Dad, I mean whatever looked like Dad, it never made us take a bath, or brush teeth, or go to school, or have a bedtime…" Gary's eyes bugged out and his mouth fell open.

Finally. He got it. Took him long enough!

"My Dad cares about me," she said, loud enough for the whole room to hear. Then Rae walked back to her Dad and held her arms up. Enough was enough. Seriously. As those safe arms lifted her up and wrapped around her, she closed her eyes. Maybe she could take just a little bitty nap while the grownups talked to stupid over there. Suddenly she was real tired.

--

Dean felt Rae's whole body relax against him. She fell asleep as her head rested against his shoulder. He couldn't help but smile at the sight. Plus, she actually talked to somebody! It was a red letter day.

"Is she out?" Sam asked, hovering close.

"I think so," Dean replied, shifting so Sam could see her face.

Sam chuckled after checking that Rae really was sleeping. "God, she's getting more like you everyday."

"Poor kid," Bobby added from behind them.

Now it was Dean's turn to chuckle. "I suppose you'd feel better if she were wearing dirty ballcaps and calling me an idiot?"

"I might," Bobby snapped, which made both he and Sam chuckle again. It was always fun to embarrass Bobby. "Weren't we about to ask something?" Bobby motioned to Gary's mother.

"Oh, right." Dean turned around. "We'd like to borrow your son, to see if he can find the cave where the other kids are being kept."

Now the mother looked nervous again. "No, I don't think so," she replied, casting worried glances at the kid, Gary. "I was actually planning to head home soon."

"Ma'am," Sam stepped closer to her, "there are children's lives at stake. I can understand wanting to protect your son, I'm sure I'd feel the same way, but my brother and I are taking Rae back there in case she recognizes something. I can promise you that he won't leave our sight. And this search is being conducted by the police."

She gave Sam a hard look. "So now you're police officers?"

Sam shook his head. "More like consultants. The officer who directed the search for your son will be here soon."

The mother wrung her hands as she stared at Gary. "I can't lose him again," she whispered. Gary frowned from across the room. Dean couldn't tell if the kid heard her or not. "I can't."

"You won't," Bobby said from over her shoulder. "Believe me, if I thought we'd lose either of them, we wouldn't be asking this."

She stared down at the floor, wringing her hands. Dean pulled out a chair to sit down. He tilted his head toward the door. Sam frowned and wrinkled his brow.

"Why don't you and Bobby take a little walk?" Dean suggested, to make his meaning crystal clear. "Just for a couple of minutes."

"Come on, Sam." Bobby grabbed Sam by one arm. Sam sputtered and half-protested the whole way out the door. Dean would have to make little brother understand about that later, after Rae was asleep and Bobby wasn't around.

Once they were alone, Dean motioned to the other chair. Gary's mother sat down. Gary came over to sit on the floor beside her. Kid actually looked worried.

"What's your name?" he asked gently.

She swallowed hard. "Carol."

Dean smiled at her. "Carol. I'm Dean. This is my daughter, Rae."

She nodded, chewing her lower lip. "She was taken too?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Now it was Dean's turn to swallow hard. "Yeah. Not too long after they got your son, while I was with the search party."

Her eyes got wet and shiny. She shook her head. "I, uh, didn't know. I really didn't."

Dean shifted in the hard-backed chair, leaning back so he wouldn't have to hold Rae against him. He let gravity do it. "I know," he kept his voice gentle. "It was the second time this," he couldn't say fossegrim, she would kick him out, "kidnapper came for her. The first time was the day before Gary was taken."

He waited for that to sink in, make an impression. "If the kidnapper would go to all the trouble to come back for her, he will probably come for Gary again."

She reached down, grasped Gary's hand in one of hers. Carol stared at her son as she said, "Then we'll leave. Right now."

"Carol," he tried to be persuasive, "whoever this is, he's been taking kids for a while now. According to Rae, he has a number of kids in a cave on the far side of the lake. We need to find those kids and to stop him. Gary might be our best chance to do that."

She didn't answer, just kept staring at her son. His next question would be below the belt, he knew that. He also knew it was most likely the only way she would agree. "Do you really want another parent to go through what you and I have been through?"

Now she did look at him. Her mouth tightened, causing thin lines to form at the ends. She shook her head. "I'll have to go," she said firmly.

Dean couldn't exactly argue with that. He didn't want Rae out of his sight right now either. It would be more dangerous with yet another civilian along, but it wouldn't be the first time. "I'd rather you didn't," he admitted, "but I won't say you can't." Then he smiled at her again. "As a matter of fact, I'd be surprised if you didn't insist."

Carol nodded tightly. "I insist."

Dean stood, cradling Rae against him. "We've been up for over twenty-four hours, so after a nap, we'll come get you and head out. I'd recommend jeans and shoes you're comfortable hiking in."

As he left Dean realized that he needed to call the cop Harry again, to tell him not to come for a couple of hours. Sam looked both worried and pissy when he came out, which was a combination only his little brother was capable of. Dean grinned at them. "They're coming, right after Rae's nap."


	16. Ch16:The Moms

**Chapter Sixteen**

**The Moms**

Sam hadn't realized just how tired he was until he sat on his bed and couldn't stand back up again. Now that the adrenaline and worry had faded, his limbs felt tired and sluggish. Dean was talking on the phone to that cop who organized the search. Sam stretched out and the bed felt far softer than he remembered. He wanted to sleep, but for some reason his eyes just wouldn't stay closed.

Sam watched as Dean struggled to hold the cell phone and lay Rae down on the other bed, probably so he could pace and talk at the same time. His brother was having a difficult time, though. Sam used his heavy limbs to force himself upright. He took Rae from his brother's arm to rest gently on the bed. Dean smiled a quick thanks right before Sam collapsed back on the other bed.

Dean's voice droned on for a while, Sam's tired brain chose not to pay attention, before the room was steeped in silence. Still Sam couldn't sleep. Damn it. He rolled over to discover a pair of legs clad in faded jeans with a rip just above the left knee.

"Dean?" Sam asked with a yawn. "What?"

Dean waved at him to move over. Sam scooted far enough to give his brother room to sit. He didn't care for the serious look on his brother's face. "What is it?"

Funny, a minute ago all he wanted to do was fall asleep and now he didn't even feel tired.

"About Carol, you know, the kid's mom," Dean said. Sam nodded when his brother stopped. Dean shrugged. "Well, I figured the only way we'd get her to agree is if she thought she was talking to another single parent. You know, someone who understood how she felt about her kid."

Sam pushed up to a sit. "Yeah, makes sense. It worked, right?"

Dean nodded but he still had that serious intensity in his face. "I also figured that the only way I could pull it off was if you weren't in the room."

"What?" Sam leaned forward, pulling his legs up to sit cross-legged. "I don't get it."

Dean didn't look away and he didn't make a joke. "Dude, we're kind of in this together. I'm not exactly a single parent here."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm the mom. Go take a nap, Dean."

Dean didn't move right away and Sam had to shove him off the bed. He almost looked hurt when he went back to his bed to curl up with Rae. Sam shrugged it off, but he found he could fall right to sleep this time.

* * *

An irritating noise threatened Sam's sleep. He rolled over in an attempt to ignore it. It didn't stop. Finally, his sleep deprived brain recognized the noise as someone pounding on the door. Sam staggered to his feet. Dean and Rae were both still out cold. Figured.

He peered out the peephole as he reached for the doorknob. It was Bobby. Sam ran a hand through his hair, hoping it wasn't too much of a mess. Then he wondered why he cared if it was a mess for Bobby. He pulled the door open. "Hey, Bobby."

Another man stood behind Bobby and he looked kind of familiar. Sam looked to Bobby for an explanation.

"Harry," Bobby said with a motion of his hand. "From the police. The search party?"

"Oh, right." Sam shook the man's extended hand. "Good to see you."

The cop smiled at him. "Guess you weren't kidding about your brother's tracking skills, huh? The kid's mother called me about five minutes after Mister Singer brought him back." He jerked his head toward the parking lot. "Brought a couple of the other guys, too. We're all off-duty until this evening."

"Off-duty?" Sam asked, looking to Bobby again. His brain just wasn't working at the moment.

"This search isn't exactly sanctioned," Bobby explained. "But since we found the kid these fellas wanted to help out, just in case there were still other kids out there."

"Oh." Sam rubbed a hand across his face, trying to brush the sleep away. "That's good. We'll probably need the extra eyes."

"Especially since the kid's mother is coming," Bobby replied meaningfully.

Okay, that penetrated to the thinking part of his brain. "What? She's coming?"

"Sure." Bobby stomped one foot on the pavement. "What'd you expect? For her to let us take her son after she just got him back?"

Yeah, actually that was exactly what he thought. "Dean," Sam hissed, throwing a glare back in the room.

"We'll be over by their car," Bobby motioned across the parking lot, "when you're ready."

Sam nodded, his jaw tight. He stalked over to his brother's bed, grabbed the tall glass of water waiting on the nightstand. His resolution set, Sam slowly poured the water over his brother's face.

Dean sputtered, waving away the wake-up call and rolled over to check on Rae. She was still sleeping soundly. Confused, Dean extricated himself from Rae's possessive sprawl across his body. He wiped off his face as he stood to face Sam.

"Uh, problem there, Sammy?" Dean asked quietly.

Sam hoped they would be able to stay quiet, this was probably the best sleep Rae had had in a few days.

"Why didn't you tell me the kid's mother was coming?" Sam demanded.

Dean just blinked at him a few times, like it was Sam who needed his head examined and not his stupid older brother. "Did you really think she'd just let us take her son? Hell, Sam, for all she knows we could've been the ones who took him in the first place and were just pretending to find him."

"Dude," Sam replied, alarmed, "you're seriously warped."

Dean ran his hands over his face again, drying them on his jeans. "Yeah. What else is new?"

"No, wait," Sam stammered, trying to explain, "I didn't mean…"

"I get what you meant," Dean snapped, his voice rising slightly in volume. "I'm warped and you're worried about the mom."

Sam shook his head. How did they get into so many stupid arguments these days? "I meant I never would have thought about it like. Why would she think that? The part about where we could be responsible."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Dude, it's the first thing I would've thought if somebody brought my kid back and then immediately wanted her to go searching for other supposedly missing kids. We don't have any evidence that there are other kids except for what Rae and that kid said, and Rae only talks to us."

"And Gary," Sam pointed out. "She talked to the kid, Gary."

Dean grinned, his whole face lighting up. "I asked her about that. She said she had to explain what parents do to him because he was too stupid to figure it out on his own." He chuckled. "God, you gotta love that kid."

"I wanted to ask you about that," Sam said, dropping his voice again as Rae stirred in the bed. "What was that all about?"

Dean's grin faded some. "The fossegrim lets the kids do whatever they want, whenever they want. Most kids think they're in paradise. Rae figured it just didn't give a damn."

"Because there were no rules?" Sam asked. Dean gave him that 'duh' look. "So…she actually associates rules and discipline with how much you care?"

"Uh-huh. Smart kid, huh?" Dean beamed again.

Sam rubbed the back of his neck. "Honestly, I don't know that I ever thought that way." Dean's eyes rolled all the way in the back of his head, far enough to tip his head backwards to face the ceiling. "Not that I'm arguing the point," Sam pointed out quickly. "I'm just glad you explained it to me. Actually, it explains quite a bit I've been wondering about."

"Like?" Dean demanded, his voice getting louder again.

Sam wasn't trying to piss off his brother, it just seemed to be a knack he had. Maybe it was part of that little brother gene he carried. "Like," he emphasized the word back, "why she responds so well when you make a new rule, she obeys everything you say almost instantly, she acts so guilty even thinking about disobeying, and mostly why she's perfect for you."

The irritation dropped instantly from Dean's face. "What do you mean, she's perfect for me?"

Sam rolled his eyes. Really, didn't he just explain that? "Wake her up, Dean. We need to get going."

Dean turned to the bed, stopped. "Come on, sneak."

A grin spread over Rae's face before she opened her eyes. "How'd you know?" she asked as she pushed herself up.

"You never sleep by yourself that still," Dean replied with a grin. "Come on."

"So that stupid boy is coming too?" Rae asked as she slid off the bed.

"Quit calling him stupid," Sam ordered. "His name is Gary."

She shot him a nasty look, which Dean immediately reprimanded with a nudge. Rae looked appropriately contrite as she said, "Yes, sir."

Then he felt bad about issuing an order like that, like Dad did when he was a kid. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound like…"

"Yes you did," Dead interrupted smoothly. "And you were right. Rae, just because the fossegrim tricked him doesn't mean he's stupid. It tricked you too, just not as long, and you're definitely not stupid."

"Not at all," Sam echoed, trying to look stern.

"Ground rules," Dean announced. Sam turned to face his brother, watching Rae do the same from the corner of his eye. "You," he pointed at Rae, his face going rigid and tight, "are to hold on to one of us at all times. Period. No exceptions, I don't care if one of us is shot. Got me?" Rae's eyes widened and she nodded. "If you're not sure we are who we appear to be, you ask for the password."

"Password?" Rae asked. "What's the password?"

"Ghostbusters," they replied together.

Rae laughed at that. "Okay, I can definitely remember that!" She clapped and bounced on her feet with a squeal.

"Let's do this," Dean said, his voice hardening to his hunting tone. Rae clasped his hand, her face also turning serious. Dean paused before going out the door to slip his handgun into his back waistband.

"Sam, we'll switch off between Rae and Carol," he announced as he led them outside. "We'll have to let Carol look after the kid, Gary."

"They're riding with us, aren't they?" Sam asked, reaching for Rae's free hand.

"Yup." Dean headed straight for the kid's motel room. Sam hoped this Gary kid would recognize where the fossegrim cave was, or this whole outing was going to be a colossal waste of time.

* * *

Carol jumped at the hard knock on her door. Yes, she had been expecting it and yes, she had been waiting for it. Waiting for it and experiencing it were two different things, however. Now her heart raced and her breath caught in her throat. It took two more knocks to force her to move to the door. This was it. They were going back to where the kidnapper took Gary. They were purposefully going closer to the kidnapper. Had she lost her ever-living mind?

She opened the door slowly. That very nice looking man with the daughter stood just outside. He gave her the most pleasant smile. Too bad his younger brother was not as pleasant. That young man looked like he just bit into a lemon. When he caught her looking at him, his face softened and he offered a smile. Uh-huh.

"Ready?" Dean asked with a hint of a smile, like he still wasn't sure she should come along. Like she would really let two perfect strangers leave here with her son. Honestly.

"If it's time," Carol managed to reply. She turned to call, "Gary!"

Gary rushed to her side. "Ready, Mom!" He beamed at the little girl clutching the hands of the two large men flanking her. "Hey, kid."

The little girl, Carol thought her name was something like Rayna, snorted and rolled her eyes.

"It's Rae," the brother corrected Gary in a firm but friendly voice. Maybe she judged him a little too harshly the first time.

"Hey, Rae," Gary said quickly. Did he look a little embarrassed because he forgot the girl's name? She might be cute, but way too young for him. Carol decided she was reading too much into that. Gary was only eleven, after all.

"You two can ride with us," Dean said as she closed the door behind them. "Bobby has his own car and I think the cops are all in one car. This way."

Dean's little family led them to that nice Mister Singer and some of the officers from the search party. She really didn't remember them, but they recognized her. Probably because she was such a mess that night, Carol realized. Oh, well. Nothing she could do about it now.

After climbing into the big black boat Dean referred to as a 'car', Carol really listened to the brothers talk. They sounded terribly serious and all, but also as if they were well versed in this type of thing. Then she realized that she had no idea what they did for a living. Could this be it?

"Do you two do this often?" Carol asked, interrupting the discussion of how to break up the search parties. "Search for missing persons?" she clarified into the silence that fell in the car.

"Yes." Sam turned in the seat, one arm draping comfortably over the back to talk to her. "That's pretty much what we do. We're pretty good at it, too." His smile was warm and friendly, just oozing confidence. She felt herself smiling back automatically, until the little girl laughed. The smile dropped a little and he turned to face forward again. Carol noticed that the dent in the seat from his arm did not fill back out. Wow. They spent a lot of time in this car.

It didn't take long to drive to the other side of the lake and park in what could be a picnic area. No tables but it looked perfect for picnics, situated just between the wide lake and the wooded area on the far side. They were out of the car and the brothers were taking things out of the trunk when the other two cars pulled up. Dean slammed the trunk closed before the others had a chance to get out of their cars.

"What do we tell them they're for?" Sam hissed.

"Signals, doofus," Dean snapped. He held up some big orange guns in one hand. "That's what they're for."

"Right. Right." Sam nodded tightly, heading to the other men recruited for this rescue mission. Carol was a little confused that none of the officers were in uniform, but she chose not to question it. At least it was a group of large, imposing men. She felt much safer this way.

Finally they divided into two groups. Mister Singer and the police were in one, she and Gary and the little girl with the brothers. Carol considered asking if she and Gary could go with Mister Singer, until Dean gave her a wink as he led his daughter toward the woods. They were with the right group. This group would definitely look out for the kids.

His brother, Sam, hung back to follow them into the woods. Carol was not sure if she should feel nervous or reassured. He seemed likable enough, at the moment.

"So," Sam said as they followed Dean and the little girl through the trees. "How long, uh, I mean, it's just you and Gary, right?"

"Yeah." She sighed. "His father and I divorced about three years ago."

Sam's forehead wrinkled. "He hasn't seen his father in three years?"

Carol glared at him, and immediately tripped over something. Probably a damned tree root. Those things really carried a grudge. Dig up one sapling ten years ago, and the damn things never let you forget it.

He caught her before she could hit the ground. Not only big, but Sam was really, really strong. He literally set her back on her feet. "You all right?" he asked anxiously.

"Um, yeah." Carol brushed the hair away from her face, embarrassed. She hurried to catch up, Gary was halfway between them and Dean and the girl. Making certain Gary was well in sight, Carol decided she could ask Sam a question. "How did you know he hasn't seen his father?"

Sam looked a little nervous. "Well, it fits the pattern," he explained slowly, as if he either didn't know if he should tell her or wasn't sure she would understand. "All the kids who were taken have lost at least one parent. That parent either died or, uh, abandoned them."

She stared at him. "He's a serial kidnapper?" she demanded. "Are you serious?"

Sam nodded in earnest and actually looked kind of sad about it. He did not act like someone who would be kidding. "You are serious." They walked a littler further. "So her mother died?"

Sam cleared his throat, glanced around. "And her father. She saw it."

"I thought Dean was her father," Carol said, motioning ahead of them.

"My brother adopted her," Sam explained. Then he chuckled a little. "They are a lot alike, though."

"Are you visiting, or do you all travel together?" Carol asked. Her curiosity was getting the better of her.

"My brother and I have to travel for our work." Sam's pace picked up. "Come on, they're getting too far ahead."

They weren't any further ahead than they had been five minutes ago, but Carol did not say anything. He was avoiding her question. That was when the damn trees planned their revenge again and Carol went down. Hard. She felt her ankle give way under her. The rough ground bit into her palms, slicing the skin. Those huge hands of Sam's pulled her up again.

"Hey? You okay?" he asked, deep eyes boring into her. "Dean! Hey, Dean!"

"No, no," she mumbled, attempting to brush herself off. "I'm good." That was before she tried to walk.


	17. Ch17:Twists and Turns

Tona, m'dear, I hope you like this chapter! There are more waiting your approval, if you get the time. As for the rest of you, I just couldn't keep you waiting any longer!

**Chapter 17**

**Twists and Turns**

Carol nearly collapsed all the way to the ground again. Fortunately Sam spent most of his teen life watching his brother deny injuries, so he was ready for it. He was able to catch her before she hit the ground. Sam lowered her gently the rest of the way.

"Dean!" he roared in the direction his brother disappeared. Sam was seriously considering using his flare gun to get some attention when he heard the sounds of underbrush being trampled.

"Sam!"

"Over here!" Sam shouted, leaning over to run his hands gently over Carol's lower leg. She gasped when he reached her ankle. Definitely sprained and it was already starting to swell. Great. They didn't need this.

"I don't think it's broken," Sam told her. He could feel his brother heading their way. About time. "But you won't be able to walk on it. One of us will have to take you back to the car."

Tears sprang to Carol's eyes, but Sam suspected they weren't all from pain. "No. I won't leave Gary out here. Absolutely not."

Sam chewed his lower lip as he studied her. "Okay," he relented. "He'll come with us when I take you back."

She eyed him shrewdly. "You're not planning on that happening right away are you?"

Sam smiled with a shrug. Actually, that part was going to be up to Dean. His brother was the one the fossegrim was taking personally.

"What happened?" Dean demanded.

"The trees are out to get me," Carol declared. After Sam stared at her a moment, waiting for an explanation of that one, she shook her head. "Long story. Forget it. I don't think I'm going to be able to keep up." She took a deep breath as she met Sam's eyes. "You stick with my son. He might still be able to help you find the other kids. I'll wait here."

"How bad is it?" Dean asked. Sam felt one of Rae's hands tugging on his jacket.

"I think it's just twisted," Sam explained as he ran a hand over Rae's head, "but it's already swelling. There's no way she can walk on it."

"Gary?" Dean turned the boy around to face him. "Do you recognize anything? Any of this look familiar?"

Gary shrugged. "All of it looks familiar to me."

Dean straightened up to look around again. "I think we're near where we found Rae. Rae?" he looked down at the girl clutching his hand. "Did you get very far from the cave?"

Rae shook her head without speaking, not that Sam expected anything else.

"Good. Gary, go with Sam to take a look around. See if you spot anything familiar," Dean ordered as he gave Sam a gentle shove. Dean stood over the woman, scanning the woods around them.

Sam headed for the kid. They moved away through the trees.

"It looked different at night," Gary said in a low voice.

"Just do the best you can," Sam encouraged. "No one is expecting miracles."

He glanced up at Sam, his face worried. "You don't think it's going to hurt the other kids, do you?"

Sam shook his head. "Nah. I'm sure they're fine." To be honest, Sam had been wondering about that. Would the fossegrim dispose of the children in an attempt to cover its tracks in hopes of starting up again someplace else? Or was it still fixating on Gary and Rae, determined to make their lives better?

Well, that was his theory, anyway. Sam had not shared it with either Dean or Bobby yet, figuring they would just laugh at him. Well, Dean would probably laugh. Bobby would shake his head, disappointed, and call Sam an idiot. But it did make sense. The fossegrim targeted children with a major loss in their lives, then appeared to those children as the long-lost parent they craved. It was a good thing they never ran into one of these things when they were kids, or Dean would have been raised by it.

It also explained why it kept coming after Rae. Of all the children the fossegrim had taken so far, Rae was the one who had experienced the most loss and was possibly the only one to actually witness the death of her parents. He figured it tried to replace the parent and be loved by the child in return. Most likely that was also the reason for the lack of structure or discipline, because few children asked for it or acted as though they liked it.

"Wait a minute." Gary paused by a clump of trees. His eyes narrowed and he turned all the way around twice before heading in a new direction. "Over here!" the boy ran out of the woods.

Sam followed, his long legs making keeping up with the boy easy. Gary stopped by an indention in the side of a hill. "That's it," Gary proclaimed. "That's the entrance."

Sam studied it warily. "You sure?"

"Yep." Gary reached a hand toward it and the indention widened. "It lets you in, but it's a bitch to get back out." Gary cleared his throat. "Uh, I mean it's hard to get back out."

Sam gave the kid a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I won't tell." Sam turned away from the kid to study the entrance. He wasn't sure shovels would work, but they really didn't have much choice. The kids managed to get out, but they were much smaller than he or Dean. How could they possibly get the rest of the kids, who would be unwilling to leave, out? They would have to try digging it out, and according to Rae there would be two places to dig.

"We'll need shovels," Sam explained as he turned to head back. He stopped, uncertain he could find this spot again without Gary. Sam took off his over-shirt to tie around the trunk of the closest tree. If he couldn't spot that, they had more problems than a fossegrim.

Sam led the way back to the others. As they approached he heard an all too familiar scream. Heedless of his promise to look after Gary, Sam took off at a dead run through the trees, underbrush meeting its demise in the onslaught of his size fifteens. He burst through a couple of bushy trees to discover Dean on the ground duking it out with…Dean.

"Damn it," Sam muttered as he pulled out his flare gun. He maneuvered around the battling Deans to stand in front of Rae. She stood watching with this totally blank expression that made Sam worry, the kind of worry that caused him to break out in a cold sweat. Sam kept the flare gun trained on the Deans as he used his free hand to reach back and grab Rae by the shoulder.

"Rae? What happened?" he asked, making his voice loud to be heard over the cussing of one or both Deans.

"He just appeared!" Carol shouted. She was still in the same spot where Sam left her, but holding a fallen branch. "Gary! Get back!"

"Rae!" Sam shook her gently. "Talk to me!" He dropped to one knee, careful to keep his flare gun covering both Deans. One was just thrown into a tree. That was probably the real Dean. That one stood up, brushed himself off, and hurtled into the other one, knocking both back to the ground. Sam lost track shortly after that. He wrapped one arm around Rae, drew her in close. With his free hand, he forced her head to turn away from the Deans.

Figuring Rae was probably a lost cause, Sam decided he ought to work on his brother. "Dean! We got a problem!"

The Deans paused, facing each other. "You got a frigging problem?" one demanded.

"What the hell do you think this is!" the other one shouted.

"You shut up!" the first one cried as he body slammed the second one.

"Which one do I shoot?" Sam asked, not really expecting anyone to answer.

"If you can't tell, shoot both of us!" one of the grappling Deans yelled.

"This isn't Star Trek, Dean!" Sam shouted. One Dean had the other in a headlock. "I don't have a phaser!"

The Dean in the headlock gasped, struggling to speak. The other Dean rolled his eyes. "That's why I said it, doofus. So you'd know which one was me!"

The Dean in the headlock struggled harder. Sam wondered if he could capture both of them. His brother shouldn't resist. Probably. Ha, wishful thinking. The headlocked Dean brought an elbow back, hard. He managed to draw in a breath. Sam waited anxiously. "Ghostbusters," he gasped.

The other Dean shook his head in disgust. "Nice try, dumbass. My brother would never fall for something as lame as…"

Sam fired the flare into the talking Dean's chest. It looked shocked when the flare impacted. The force of the impact knocked it several feet backwards. It beat its hands against its chest as flames erupted.

Dean staggered close, rubbing his throat. "So," he croaked, "this is what it's like to be you."

"You're better off not talking for a while," Sam advised. He scooped Rae up, handed her over. Her eyes were closed and she shivered as Dean took her. "Give me your flare."

Dean slapped it into Sam's outstretched palm. They watched as the fake Dean burned from the inside out. It fell to the ground, writhing in pain. Dean watched, face devoid of emotion. As it burned, its face changed into the faces of other men, other fathers. Sam still found it difficult to think of Dean as a father, but it definitely fit. He glanced over at his brother who whispered into the Rae's ear, rubbed her back with soothing strokes, and rocked back and forth gently.

When it looked like the fossegrim finally died, Sam shot a flare into the air. He hurried to pull the body away. In its natural state, the fossegrim had gray skin. In the areas not charred by the flare, the skin shone with a natural iridescence like a fish. Perhaps it had scales. It was lighter than Dean but bulkier, making it difficult to drag out of the way. He covered it with leaves and debris, hurrying when he heard the sound of men coming their way.

As he headed back to the small clearing, Sam felt something catch his pants leg. He looked down, into Carol's wide eyes.

"What was that?" she asked in a high pitched voice. "What was that?"

Sam looked toward the sounds headed their way. "Not now," he whispered. "I'll explain later, okay?"

She did not look like that was okay, but she nodded. Sam hoped that would be enough. He showed the other men the spot Gary found where they needed to dig. Bobby stayed behind to keep watch while the rest of them headed back to the cars for the shovels. Carol rode on Sam's back while Gary walked in front of them, turning around to walk backwards from time to time to keep an eye on them.

At the car, Sam lowered her carefully to the ground. One of the cops helped her to sit in the backseat of Dean's car. Speaking of Dean, Sam turned to look for his brother. He walked slowly out of the woods, still carrying Rae. Sam hurried over to check on them.

"How is she?" he asked anxiously.

Dean frowned at him. "Do you think she feels warm?"

"Warm?" Sam pressed his hand against her forehead. The skin was warmer than normal, but probably not a good fever. "A little," he admitted. "Want the Tylenol?"

"Glove box?" Dean asked. Sam nodded. "I can get it. You get the shovels and go help; I'll stay in the car with Carol and the kids."

Sam didn't particularly like that idea, but it was better than letting off-duty cops dig through the trunk. He grabbed their regular shovels and the spares. Harry took two from him as they approached the woods.

"They all right?" Harry asked, jerking his head at the car.

"Yeah. My brother thinks Rae might be running a fever, but they'll be fine until we get back," Sam explained.

He must have been acting odd or something, because Harry turned to him after they reached Bobby to say, "You know, if you'd rather go back, I'm sure we can dig this out."

Sam shook his head. "I have a feeling it's going to take all of us."

--

Dean sat in the car with Rae huddled against him wondering if he was going to have to make small talk for the rest of the day. In an attempt to avoid conversation, he turned on auxiliary power to use the radio. The last tape he put in was AC/DC. Rae snuggled closer as Hells Bells blasted out of the speakers. Without the engine to drown out, Dean turned it down some.

After a couple of songs, he felt Carol tap on his shoulder. Dean turned the music down to hear her.

"Yeah?" Dean craned his neck to look back at her.

"How long do you think it will take?" she asked.

Dean drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he figured how much time it should take Sam and Bobby to dig through two earthen walls. Probably the same amount of time it took to dig about three or four graves. "Couple hours." He didn't like how rough his voice sounded.

"I doubt Gary will be able to sit in the car that long," Carol told him. "Do you think it would be all right for him to play outside the car? Do you think it's safe?"

He heard the underlying question she asked, if there were other things out in the woods waiting to snatch her son.

Dean nodded. "I'm pretty sure it's safe." He pointed a finger at Gary. "But you stay where we can see you." Okay, not only did his voice sound rough, his throat felt terrible. Next time Sam was strangled, he would have to offer a little more sympathy.

Gary grinned at him. The boy leaned over the front seat. "Hey, Rae. Want to go play?"

Rae pushed up to stare at Gary for a moment. Then she shook her head and rested against Dean again. He rested a hand on her head. She felt warmer than she did earlier. He pulled open the glove box to rummage around for the Children's Tylenol. What was that? Chewable tablets? Sam went shopping again.

"Come on, Sunshine," he said gently, pushing her up so he could see her face. "You need to take these."

Rae made a face and turned away, burying her face in his chest. "Nope, not this time, kiddo. You slept outside all night and you're running a fever. You are going to take this." When he kept his voice soft, it didn't hurt as much.

Dean read the box before popping two pills out of the bubbles of the packaging. This was almost as bad as the damned packing on kid toys these days. "Come on," he tried to coerce her, "you can chew it. Uncle Sam bought it. Cherry? Your favorite?"

One eye peeked out to glare at him.

"You know I won't stop until you take it. Might as well give up now. Unless you want Uncle Sam mad at both of us?" Dean held one of the chewable tablets in front of her. "Open up."

She mouthed the word 'water' at him. Dean rolled his eyes, but he pushed her up so he could move. She shook her head, grasping his shirt with both hands.

"The water is in the trunk. I have to get out to get it," Dean explained gently. "You can wait here." She shook her head violently. "Or not." He pulled her with him as he slipped out of the car. Rae clung to his neck as he stood. Yeah, no getting over that pulled muscle for a while. A deep ache throbbing with pain ran from his right ear, down his neck and right to his spine. Maybe after this was all over he could get a massage. From a really hot chick. Who liked to be well tipped.

Dean shifted Rae to hang off his side so he could open the trunk. He snagged a few water bottles before slamming it shut. Getting out of the car actually proved easier than getting back in. Rae knew her medicine was in the car, so she wriggled and squirmed and did everything possible to make it difficult. Finally settled back in the seat, Dean produced the two tablets again.

"That's enough," he whispered as he held them out. "Take those. Now."

She scowled as she picked them up, but did not argue. For a change. Rae popped both in her mouth at the same time. After starting to chew, she made a horrible face and motioned wildly for the water. Dean unscrewed the top before handing it to her. She gulped it greedily.

"Oh, nasty!" Rae shuddered. She handed the water back then snuggled up on him again.

--

Dean dangled an unopened bottle over the seat. "Water?"

"Thanks." Carol took it. She took a long drink before attempting conversation. "So? At least another hour and a half, huh?"

Dean cleared his throat. It must be sore after nearly being strangled to death. "Guess so." He scooted forward until he could see Carol over the seat without straining. His head tilted toward Gary, visible through the open window. "His dad?"

She sighed, remembering almost the same question from Sam. "Left me for another woman over three years ago. My divorce was finalized about four months later. Gary hasn't seen him since last year. The ass hasn't even called in about six months."

You couldn't fake the look of shock on his face. It made her smile. "It's nice to see that other fathers aren't like that. How long ago did you adopt her?"

He frowned at her. Carol motioned toward the front windshield. "Sam," they said together.

He did chuckle then. "Almost a year."

"Almost?" she asked.

Dean shrugged. "Eleven months and nine days." He said it in a voice that said it was no big deal, but the set of his jaw and the crease between his brows told her it was a very big deal.

"Wow," she said softly. "I'm impressed. You know to the day? My ex could never remember our anniversary."

"He's also an idiot," Dean reminded her, voice still raw.

"You got me there," Carol replied with a grin. "How old is she?"

They passed the time swapping stories after that. She was surprised at how many Dean had to tell. It was like he memorized the entire past year. Every story she had about Gary, Dean had one he could throw in that either showed how alike or different Rae was. The fact his brother was homeschooling his daughter was really fascinating. Before that came up Carol had just assumed Rae was shy, not terrified of strangers. Dean's voice developed more of a hoarse croak the longer they talked, but he did not slow down. She started to suspect he had been looking for someone to swap parenting stories with.

"So now she insists on sleeping with her clothes on," he told her. "Did Gary ever go through anything like that?"

"Well," Carol shifted on the seat. Her ankle hurt something fierce and her butt felt prickly, like it had fallen asleep. "This was the first time he's ever been kidnapped, so I don't know how that's going to affect him yet. But it seems like when he was four or five some friends of my husband's came over after Gary was ready for bed. My husband made Gary come out to say hello to them and he was just mortified that strangers saw him in his Superman pajamas. It was at least six months before I could get him to wear pajamas to bed again."

Dean nodded seriously at her. "You're saying it's normal?" he asked, hanging on her every word.

Carol nodded. "Yeah, I'd say it was normal. I'd also say that I don't blame her. After something like that, I don't think I'd wear anything but regular clothes to bed either."

He smiled, clearly relieved. He looked out the front and mumbled, "About frigging time."

Three men covered in dirt and sweat with shovels slung over their shoulders emerged from the woods. She wondered where the others were. They all headed straight for the big black car.

Sam leaned in the open passenger window. "We found them. It was a bitch to dig through, though. The hole kept closing up on us until we finally got one big enough."

"Kids?" Dean asked.

Sam nodded. "About ten or eleven. Physically they seem fine, but they're refusing to come out. Harry is calling in for reinforcements and child services. Most of them are orphans now, but they don't know it yet." Sam motioned to the sleeping Rae. "How is she?"

"Sleeping," Dean replied.

Sam glared at him. "Duh, Dean."

Dean shrugged. "About the same as she was an hour ago. Damn."

"What?" Sam asked, alarmed. He leaned further in the window. "What is it?"

"She's burning up," Dean exclaimed, his raw voice cracking.

"What about the Tylenol?" Sam demanded.

"Two, about twenty minutes after you left," Dean replied. "Go get the thermometer."

"What's going on?" Gary asked, angling to peer in from beside Sam. "Did you get the other kids?"

"We found them." Sam pushed by Gary in his rush. A trunk slam and maybe two seconds later he returned with one of those digital ear thermometers. He slapped it into Dean's open palm. Dean inserted it into the girl's ear. After it beeped he looked at it and frowned.

"Well?" Sam demanded.

"Hang on." Dean put it back in her ear and took her temperature again. It beeped. He pulled it out to look at it. "Shit. Get in the car."

"Bobby!" Sam shouted. He tossed his shovel at that very nice man as he shouted, "We have to go!"

Sam was already in the car, lifting Rae's legs so he could sit in the front seat, when Bobby shouted back, "Go where?"

"Hospital!" Dean yelled as he cranked the engine.

Gary barely pulled the door closed before the big boat jerked backward with a squeal of tires. After they were moving forwards, this time with a spray of gravel as they made for the road, Sam spoke in that demanding voice again. "Where is it?"

"Seat," Dean snapped. Carol felt the big car accelerate, as if just thinking about the thermometer made him drive faster.

She watched Sam pick it up and his face tighten as he read the digital display. "A hundred and four?"

"I swear, Sam, she wasn't that hot when I made her take the Tylenol." Dean sounded angry and defensive and the car jerked again with another burst of speed.

"Slow down," Sam ordered. "We don't need to get into a wreck on our way to the hospital." She watched one of Sam's hands reach over to squeeze his brother's shoulder. "It's probably because she was out all night."

Dean shrugged the hand off and shot his brother a glare. God, they acted more like an old married couple than brothers. She heard a cell phone go off. Sam wriggled as he searched his pockets.

"Hello? … Yeah, it's Rae. Fever. … If it wasn't, do you think we'd be going to the hospital?" Now Sam sounded defensive.

"Sam! Dude, it's Bobby!" Dean snapped. One hand slapped into Sam's chest. "Give it to me. Now."

Yeah, definitely brothers. Sam made a face as he shoved the cell phone into Dean's hand. Dean returned the face as he brought the phone to his ear.

"Bobby? … High enough. … It's a hospital, we'll probably be there for hours. Don't rush. … Yeah, well, you know how high strung some mothers are." Sam slammed a fist into his brother's shoulder. Between holding the phone and driving Dean was unable to strike back, but it was an impressive grunt as he absorbed the blow. "He did. … Okay, we'll see you there."

Dean threw the phone at the other side of the car. Sam barely caught it in time as it sailed through the open window. "Dean!"

"Shut up!" Dean snapped. The car surged forward again as they hit the road that rounded the hospital.


	18. Ch18:These Are The Breaks

New chapter! Tona is out of pocket, but Rae is a persistent little kid and refused to just take up space on my harddrive, so here she is. Hope you enjoy!!

**Chapter 18**

**These Are The Breaks**

Sam hovered over Dean and Rae, brushing one of them occasionally as they waited for the ER nurse. Dean didn't say anything, didn't even smack him for that hit back in the car. The nurse, an older woman with just enough gray hair to put Sam's mind at ease about her level of experience, returned with two small plastic cups.

"She needs to take these," the nurse said, holding them out to Dean. The nurse stood aside to let them to coerce Rae into drinking the medicine. Rae was sluggish and grouchy and flat out refused anything Dean tried. Dean appeared just too damn tired to deal. Sam could relate, he had been strangled far more often than his brother had.

Sam kneeled beside her bed so he would be at her eye level. He leaned forward until their noses touched. "Don't feel so good, do you, Sunshine?"

Her lower lip stuck out as she rolled her head slightly from side to side, their noses brushing.

"You want something to make you feel better?" he asked gently.

The lower lip stuck out further and tears appeared in her eyes. The most pitiful "uh-huh" sound came out.

"You know your dad won't let anything hurt you, right?" He waited for her to nod. "He wouldn't give you anything bad, would he?" Her eyes closed as her head shook again. "Then you need to take your medicine."

She sighed and opened her eyes. Dean helped her sit up so she could drink the two types.

"Rae?" the nurse asked the instant the second cup of medication had been drained. "Do you hurt anywhere? Like your tummy or your throat?"

Rae looked to Dean this time as she nodded. He leaned over so she could whisper in his ear. "She says her throat hurts really bad," Dean announced, his voice sounding hoarse and strained.

"You don't sound so good yourself." She made a note on Rae's chart. "The doctor will be in soon." The nurse took Rae's temperature again before leaving.

Sam sat in a visitor's chair. Dean was stuck sitting on the side of the bed, since Rae refused to let him out of reach.

"That was pretty good," Dean said, nodding toward Rae. "I'll have to remember that."

"Why?" Sam asked in the most innocent voice he could muster. "Planning to find another mom?"

Dean snorted a laugh. He seemed a little more relaxed now that there were doctors looking after Rae. "Nah, probably couldn't find anyone as girly."

Sam rolled his eyes. Even as bad as Dean sounded, he always found something to tease Sam about. Ah, the joys of brotherhood.

"I know they're here, they said they were comin'."

Sam looked over at Dean. His brother nodded. Sam jumped up to go find Bobby. Bobby stood just outside in the ER waiting area arguing with the desk nurse.

"Bobby!" Sam hissed. "It's a hospital, keep your voice down."

When Bobby turned to glare at him, Sam grinned. Bobby shook his head, moving to follow Sam.

"Sir!" the nurse called. "No visitors in the ER."

"Call the cops," Bobby snapped over his shoulder.

Sam paused just outside Rae's enclosure. They could see her through the glass walls, so still and pale. Dean now lay on the bed with her, her head resting on his shoulder. "Call the cops?" he challenged.

Bobby grunted. "They never do, don't worry about it. So? They figure out what's wrong with her yet?"

Sam shook his head. "Still waiting on the doctor."

"Go on in," Bobby told him, "I'll see if I can get this dog and pony show on the road."

Not quite sure what Bobby meant, and preferring it that way so he had no desire to stop their old friend, Sam went back to Rae and Dean. Dean's eyes snapped open as he came in.

"Doctor hasn't come yet?" Sam asked, even though it was obvious. Dean shook his head. "Throat still sore?"

"That's what she says," Dean replied in a raspy voice.

Sam smiled at the fact his brother didn't realize who he was talking about. "I meant yours, you idiot."

He expected the death-glare in response. Instead Dean shrugged and closed his eyes again. "Doesn't matter." The arm around Rae pulled her closer to Dean's body.

Exhaustion from the events of the past two days was starting to catch up with Sam, too. They had almost no sleep and were out hunting in the woods most of that time. His worry about Rae did not allow him to relax or even attempt a nap, as if that were possible in the hard plastic chair.

"Hey, boys," Bobby's voice broke the stillness in the room. "Look who I found."

A man in a white doctor's coat accompanied Bobby. About frigging time!

"I'm Doctor Green," he introduced himself. "So, what do we have?" Doctor Green consulted Rae's folder. "Fever and sore throat?" He smiled. "Which one?" The doctor motioned to Dean and Rae.

Dean glared until the smile dropped from the doctor's face. The doctor motioned for Dean to get off the bed, presumably so he could examine the patient. Dean started to move away when Rae's eyes snapped open and she let out a short scream, clutching at Dean.

Sam jumped to the other side of the bed, mumbling the reassuring words along with his brother, trying to soothe her. Breathing ragged, Rae looked between them rapidly. "Password?" she whispered.

"Ghostbusters," they replied in unison. She visibly relaxed, sinking back down on the bed.

"The doctor needs to check you out," Dean told her as he pulled his arm out. She grabbed at the arm as it moved away. Dean smiled at her and slipped his hand into hers. "I'm not going anywhere," he whispered.

Rae nodded. She turned to look at Sam then, a question clear in her eyes. "Me either," Sam said to the unasked question.

"Rae? Can you sit up for me? I'd like to listen to your lungs." The doctor moved forward with that ice cold stethoscope. Sam wondered why those things were always cold. Did they keep them refrigerated?

When the doctor finished his exam, he announced, "I'm ordering a strep test. If that comes up negative, we'll do one for flu. Her lungs sound clear, but with a fever that high, there must be some sort of infection."

"Strep test?" Sam asked, alarmed. "Isn't that the one where they stick the giant q-tip down your throat?"

Doctor Green nodded.

"I don't know if she's going to let you do that," Sam warned.

The doctor shrugged. "Doesn't really matter, we have to do it anyway. I'll send in the nurse with pediatric experience. She's really good, and quick." He frowned suddenly. "Mister McDermot? Are those bruises on your throat?" Doctor Green moved towards Dean. "What happened?"

Dean waved him away with a scowl. Sam took the doctor by the arm to lead him out of the room. "Rae was kidnapped last night. She managed to escape, but we ran into the kidnapper again this afternoon. It, uh, he attacked my brother."

"You had it right the first time," Doctor Green said with a scowl. "It. Those assholes are definitely Its." He glanced back through the glass. "Your brother really should let someone look at him, though. There could be damage."

"Figure out what's wrong with my niece, and then I'll work on him," Sam promised.

"Be sure the nurse checks the patient's temperature again when she comes in for the strep test," Doctor Green advised. "I want to make sure it's going down, not up."

"No problem." Sam headed back into the room. Bobby had commandeered Sam's chair, forcing Sam to choose between sitting at the foot of the bed or standing. He was too tired to stand.

"Good things those hospital beds are industrial strength," Bobby observed.

Dean rolled his eyes at Sam. He decided his brother's throat must really hurt not to have a comeback for that.

"McDermot?" Bobby asked. "Where did that come from?"

"Dean worked that out with the executor of Rae's estate. They carry health insurance on her under Sammie Rae McDermot." Sam slapped himself in the forehead. "That's what we should put on the emergency contact card for Rae! God, how can I be so dense!"

Dean chuckled and nodded in agreement. Then he pointed between himself and Sam.

"We could use that for us too," Sam agreed. "But really, I was thinking that you and I could both put Bobby down as our emergency contacts, and Bobby could call the other one. Or we list a name with each other's cell phone numbers."

"Or both," Dean suggested, his voice more hoarse now than earlier. Sam frowned at how raw it sounded.

"Damn, Dean. Maybe you should let the docs take a look at you," Bobby said. There were times Bobby was an absolute god-send. Like now.

Dean rolled his eyes as another nurse came in. This one was really young and rather plump with a kind round face. She smiled at Rae as she set up on the rolling tray beside the bed.

"So what's your name? Rae?" she asked in a pleasant, cheerful voice. Rae did not respond.

"She doesn't talk to strangers," Sam explained.

The nurse gave him a startled look. "Not even a nurse in the hospital?" she stared hard at Rae, like she was trying to provoke a response. Still nothing. "Wow," the nurse said with a laugh, "they've really got you trained well. Wish I could get my eight year old not to talk to strangers. She talks to anyone, any place, any time. Just yap, yap yap." As she talked, she opened the long q-tip thing.

Holding it in one hand, the nurse approached Rae. "Now, all I'm going to do is tickle your throat with this." Rae's eyes widened and she shrank back. "Here is what I need you to do. Lay flat and look at the ceiling for me with your mouth open."

Rae clung tighter to Dean, shaking her head. Dean pushed her gently down on the bed, motioning to the ceiling. She glared at him for a moment then her mouth moved. Dean leaned down to listen. Surprise crossed his face, but then he nodded seriously at her.

Rae shut her eyes and opened her mouth.

"Fast," Dean hissed. The nurse motioned for Dean to hold her arms. Good thing, too, because the instant that thing was in Rae's throat, she started thrashing around. The nurse held it up triumphantly before sticking it back into the thin sleeve it came out of.

"Temperature," Sam reminded her before she had time to set it down. Rae's eyes were open now and tears streamed down into her hair, but she didn't cry. The nurse used an ear thermometer to check Rae's temperature again.

"One-oh-three-point-four," she announced.

Sam let out the breath he had been holding. "It's going down," he said with a grin.

Bobby's eyebrows disappeared under his ballcap. "It was higher than that?"

"Hundred four," Sam replied as the nurse left.

"Damn it. I forgot." Bobby pulled something out from under his vest. It was a thin brown paper bag. "Brought something." He handed it over to Rae.

She looked like she would rather go to sleep, but she took it. Rae reached inside and pulled out a coloring book of angels. Dean gave Bobby a quizzical look.

Bobby shrugged. "Wanted to be sure she remembered there are good things out there, too."

* * *

"So you won't be mad if I call Dad?" Gary asked anxiously. After thinking he had Dad back, Gary wanted that sense of relief again, to know things could be okay for him.

His mom's lips pressed tightly together as she looked at him. "I won't be mad. You might be, though. I'd really rather you didn't, Gary."

Now that was a strange thing to say. He looked down at the ice packed around Mom's ankle. They were waiting on the x-rays to see if any bones were broken so the doctors would know what to do.

"So I can call?" he asked again.

"Come here." When he looked up, Mom was smiling at him. She dug through her purse and pulled out her cell phone. "His number is in here, under Dave. At least, I think it's still his number, I haven't called it since he gave it to me two years ago."

Gary swallowed hard as he took the phone from his mom. "I have to go outside to call, right?"

Mom nodded at him. "Just don't stray too far from the front doors. You know how I worry."

Gary nodded at the phone in his hand. He left the room, not wanting to look into the worry he knew was on Mom's face, not wanting to see what she had been hiding from him. Now he would know the truth, for sure. He was going to talk to Dad.

* * *

"It's strep," Doctor Green announced as he breezed back into the room. "Considering the severity, I'm going to order an anti-biotic shot. Is she allergic to any medications?"

Dean waited until the words bouncing around the room settled down and he could process them. Allergies. He shook his head No.

"With the shot, she should be up and acting more like her usual self by tomorrow. How does that sound, sweetie?" Doctor Green tried to lean right down into her face.

Rae pulled back, burying herself in his shoulder. Dean put an arm up to ward the doctor off. Seriously, hadn't this guy ever heard of personal body space?

"Sounds good, doc," Sam said. Sam moved between them and the doctor. So that's what little brothers were supposed to be good for. He had wondered. The doctor whispered something and Sam practically shoved him out the door. Whatever. Dean was way too tired to care at this point.

"Don't wanna shot," Rae whimpered. Dean pulled her in closer, trying to reassure her. He wanted to tell her that it was all right, that the shot would make her feel better, but he doubted his voice would cooperate. Right now his throat felt tight and sore and like flames might burst out if he tried to speak.

"Come on, Sunshine," Bobby said, giving Dean an odd look. "The shot will make you feel better. Don't you want to feel better?"

She shook her head. Dean stroked her hair, wanting to soothe her. This had been a horrible couple of days and to top it all off, Rae was sick. Yeah, just par for the course here lately. It was beyond him why Rae even wanted to be around him with this kind of crap happening all the time.

"They'll be here with the shot in a minute," Sam announced as he returned to the bed. He rubbed one hand in circles over Rae's back. "Oh, come on, Rae, shots don't hurt that much."

Rae peeked out at Sam. "They don't?" she squeaked.

Sam shook his head, deliberately brushing her face with his hair. She squirmed and giggled. It was their game and Dean still didn't get it, but he really didn't need to. It was probably a girl thing.

"I'm pretty sure getting thrown into a wall hurts a lot more," he told her.

Rae really giggled at that. It took a moment for Dean to realize they were making fun of him. Well, if it got Rae to relax about the shot, that was fine. The grandma nurse walked in about then, holding a shot.

"Where does she get it?" Sam asked.

"In the thigh," the woman replied. Dean raised both eyebrows at her. A shot in the thigh?

"In children her age, there's usually more fatty tissue in the thigh. Plus, they can sit without hurting," she explained.

Dean nodded as he reached down to pull up the skirt Rae was wearing. At least this one was denim, even if it did have a lace trim and some silly flowers embroidered on it. The nurse wiped the area with an alcohol swab before plunging the needle right in, no warning. Rae gasped, her whole body tensing.

"Almost done," the nurse said softly as she pushed the plunger down slowly. "It's pretty thick, so we can't do it quick," she told Dean apologetically. Finally, after what felt like endless minutes, she pulled the needle out and covered the area with a cartoon character band-aide. Then the nurse rubbed it some, even though Rae grunted and tried to get away. "I know, honey," she told Rae, "but if we rub it in now it won't hurt later."

That sounded like pretty good advice. Dean waved the nurse away to take over massaging Rae's thigh. She immediately relaxed as he did it. He grinned into her hair at the reaction. God, she was a great kid.

* * *

Gary had to sit on the sidewalk as he listened to the phone on the other end of the line ringing. He held his breath when it stopped. "Caroline, I thought we agreed you wouldn't call unless it was an emergency?"

It was Dad! "Dad?" Gary asked quietly.

It was so quiet from the other end Gary thought for a moment that Dad hung up on him. "Gary? Is that you?"

He swallowed hard. "Yeah, it's me. Uh, Mom said I could call. Is that okay?"

He heard Dad sigh. "Tell your mother I can't afford to send any child support right now. Too many expenses. I'll send her something when I can."

"No, Dad, that's not why I'm calling." Child support? Dad wasn't sending child support? "I, uh, just wanted to, you know, talk to you."

This time Gary couldn't just wait through the silence. It was too hard. "Unless you're still mad at me?"

"Mad at you? Why would I be mad at you? Did your mother tell you that?" Dad demanded.

That tight spot in his chest eased, just a little. "No, she didn't say you were mad at me. I just thought, since you don't call or anything, that I must've made you mad."

Dad sighed again, real long and loud. "Your mother put you up to this, didn't she? I've just been busy, Gary. That's all."

"Busy." That was when Gary heard something scream in the background. "Dad? Where are you?"

"Uh, home." He heard Dad shout, "Can you get him?"

"No," a woman's voice called out in the background, "I'm in the middle of cooking dinner."

Gary's heart stopped beating. The air stopped moving. The whole Earth stopped turning.

"What was that?" he asked slowly, not sure if the words actually came from him or were just in his head.

"Nothing," Dad said. "Just the baby crying. Hang on."

Baby? The world started spinning again, only now it went way too fast. Gary braced himself with one hand on the ground.

"How old?" Gary asked. He wondered why he sounded so calm when everything was so far out of control.

"What?" Dad sounded surprised by the question.

"How old is the baby?" His heart chose that moment to start beating again, throbbing painfully from the inside.

"Oh, Gary…" He heard Dad sigh heavily and the sounds of a fussy baby. "Come on, sport, it's not like I was hiding it. I was going to tell you."

"How old?" he asked again, surprised at how calm he could sound when a storm of confusion raged in his mind.

"Four months." Dad sighed again. "Look, I don't want you mad at me. I'm not sure I can take that right now, Gary."

"Four months." Gary stared out at the cars in the hospital parking lot. "How old am I, Dad?"

"Gary," Dad used that warning tone, but Gary really didn't care.

"Just answer the question." The tilt and whirl of the planet made his head spin.

"Uh, nine. Right." Dad sounded pretty sure of himself.

"I'm eleven, Dad. You missed my birthday. Again." Gary pulled the phone away from his ear before Dad had a chance to say anything. Anything that man had to say would just make him mad anyway. Mom was right about that. He turned off Mom's cell phone before he closed it. No reason to let Dad yell at Mom, it wasn't her idea for him to call.

After a while the world slowed down enough for Gary to stand up again. He walked slowly back inside the ER to where his mom waited for him. She looked like she was worried, or maybe had been crying. He put her cell phone back in her purse then sat down on the chair. When he dared look at her again, Mom motioned to him. He crawled up on the bed beside her and put his head in her lap, even though he was way too old to do that. When he closed his eyes tight, he noticed that his face felt wet and Mom was stroking his hair. Gary wrapped an arm around Mom's waist, so he could hold on tighter.


	19. Ch19:And So It Goes

**Chapter 19**

**And So It Goes…**

Rae held Dad close. Her leg really hurt and Dad rubbing it didn't exactly feel good, but she really liked the attention. Her throat still hurt, but right now she didn't care.

"Dean?" Uncle Sam leaned over her to shake Dad by the shoulder. "How about you let the doctors take a look at you. You're really looking like crap."

Uncle Sam had such a way with words. Rae opened her eyes to look pleadingly at Dad. "You promised," she whispered.

Dad smiled weakly at her and nodded. "Go get the doctor," Rae told Uncle Sam as she rested against Dad again. She felt Dad kiss her on the head as Uncle Sam walked out of the room. Eyes still closed, Rae tried to snuggle closer. Last night when she sat all alone in the dark, Rae imagined Dad's arms around her and his voice in her ear. It was that voice that encouraged her to escape, telling her that he would be outside looking for her. That voice never lied.

"There's no visible evidence of swelling, that's good."

Rae opened her eyes to watch the doctor. When did he come in? Had she fallen asleep? The doctor did not touch Dad's throat, but he made Dad turn side to side while he really looked at Dad's throat. "Open up," the doctor ordered. Dad did.

"Whoa!" The doctor's eyes widened. "Okay, I think we need another strep test. I'll be right back."

The doctor rushed out of the room. Rae looked over at Uncle Sam, who shrugged. The doctor came right back with one of those giant q-tip things.

"Dad," she whispered, "it's going to hurt, but I'll hold your hand the whole time, okay?"

Dad smiled at her and held up his hand. Rae grabbed it with both of her hands and held on tight. It looked like the doctor planned on sticking it in Dad's throat himself. Rae held up a hand to stop him.

"I'll be quick," the doctor promised. Rae shook her head. He did not understand.

"What's wrong, Sunshine?" Uncle Sam leaned over so she could whisper into his ear.

"Dad won't hit the nurse," Rae whispered.

Uncle Sam chuckled, running a hand over her head. "She's worried you'll deck the doc," Uncle Sam told Dad.

Dad grinned real big and winked at her. Then Dad motioned for the doctor to go ahead as he opened his mouth real big. Rae clung to Dad's hand and closed her eyes real tight. She hated seeing anybody hurt her dad. When Dad squeezed and shook her hand, she peeked out of one eye. The doctor was not standing over Dad anymore.

"All done?" she whispered, unsure if any strangers were in the room.

Dad smiled and nodded. He shook off her hands to put his arm around her again. Relieved, Rae laid down with her head on Dad's shoulder.

Not even a minute later, the doctor came back into the room. "It's strep. The second we started the culture it just lit up as strep, so Dean has a pretty bad infection. I'm not even going to wait on the nurse, I went ahead and prepared a shot for you. I've ordered two more strep tests for the rest of the family, though."

Rae felt Dad give a quiet laugh. He pushed her over so he could roll on his side. The doctor pushed down his pants a little and rubbed one of those cold wet things on Dad's hip. Next he stuck Dad with the shot. Rae cringed as she watched and Dad laughed that quiet laugh at her again.

"Doesn't it hurt?" she whispered, hoping the doctor didn't hear her.

Dad shook his head, grinning. She liked the way his eyes sparkled when he grinned. The doctor pulled the shot out and slapped a band-aide on Dad.

"You won't even be contagious in about twenty-four hours and I can pretty much guarantee that you'll be feeling better by morning." The doctor turned to look at Uncle Sam and Bobby. "I'd recommend soft foods and liquids for them, they're easier on the throat. Things like pudding and soup. Ice-pops are great for soothing sore throats, too."

Rae glanced at Dad. He smiled and wiggled his eyebrows. Dad really liked ice-pops, but they almost never had a freezer. Rae imagined that Uncle Sam would make it possible.

"You probably ought to test Gary and Carol, too," Bobby told the doctor.

"Who?" the doctor asked.

"The woman with the sprained ankle we brought in and her son. He was kidnapped, too," Uncle Sam explained.

"Oh, you mean the ankle fracture," the doctor said. Rae didn't know what that meant, but Uncle Sam frowned so she figured it wasn't good. "I'll order two more tests then, just to be safe."

"I'd like to see Carol," Uncle Sam said as he moved to stand by the doorway. "Are you going to keep her overnight?"

The doctor shook his head. "We'll put her in a temporary boot until the swelling goes down enough for a walking cast. That should take a couple of days."

Uncle Sam turned around to talk to Dad. "Don't worry, I'll check on Gary, too."

Dad winked before he closed his eyes. Now that Rae really looked at him, Dad looked tired and kind of white. That shot had better make him feel better.

--

Carol stroked her son's hair, soothing him until he fell asleep. She continued to stroke his hair, finding the repetitive action consoling. She had some idea of what might have happened during that phone call. When the child support checks stopped about a year ago, Carol did not call Gary's father. Instead she contacted some old friends who were still in touch with him. They told her about his new wife and the baby on the way. When even the phone calls to Gary stopped she was not surprised, just disappointed.

Now Gary must know, too. Disappointed could not begin to cover what Gary must be feeling. Carol felt like finding her ex and running him over with the car. Maybe when her foot was better.

"Carol?"

She looked up. Dean's brother Sam stood in her doorway. Carol smiled at him. She thought she was starting to understand that family. Sam acted the way he did because he was a little more than just an uncle, even if he didn't seem to realize it himself.

She pressed a finger against her lips and pointed to Gary. Sam nodded as he stepped quietly inside.

"I hear your ankle has a fracture?" he asked in a whisper.

Carol nodded. "I don't suppose you and your brother will be around in a couple of days? I'm going to need a ride back up here to get the cast."

Sam smiled at her. "Yeah, I think so. Dean and Rae both have strep so we'll be sticking around for a few days, at least until they're feeling better. But how are you going to get home?"

Carol shrugged. "Honestly, I haven't thought that far ahead. I'll worry about that later." She looked back down at her son curled around her, his head in her lap.

"How is he?" Sam asked.

She sighed. "I'm not sure. He called his father." She glanced up at Sam. "I don't think that went well."

Sam chewed his lower lip. "My dad and I didn't really get along. But I always knew he cared, that he loved us." Sam shook his head, bits of dirt falling out of that lovely hair. "I guess I can't imagine a father acting like that."

Carol offered him a small smile. "Then you're lucky."

He gave a sad kind of chuckle. "I never thought about it like that. Oh, I wanted to warn you, because of how bad Dean and Rae have strep, they're going to want to do a strep test on you and Gary."

Carol furrowed her brow. He was avoiding the conversation that he started. "What was your mother like?"

Sam shrugged as he sat in one of the visitor's chairs. "Honestly, I don't know. You'd have to ask my brother. She died when I was a baby. It was just me, Dad and Dean for as long as I can remember. Dad used to work a lot. Sometimes it would be just me and Dean."

"He left you alone?" she asked, unable to hide her shock.

"It was okay," Sam replied with another shrug, "Dean was there. And Dad always came back."

Carol felt a surge of anger. "How long would your father leave you two alone?"

Sam gave her a smile. "Don't worry about it, ancient history. I just came to check on you and Gary." He stood.

"Sam? One question?" she asked.

He paused by the doorway, watching her and waiting.

"When you think of home, who do you think of?" She suspected that she knew the answer, but she wanted to hear it.

He hesitated before answering, glancing out the door before his eyes rested on her. "Dean."

As he walked away, Carol smiled. A very interesting family. Damn, she forgot to ask about that thing in the woods. How could that have slipped her mind?

--

Sam spotted Doctor Green outside another patient's room. "Hey, Doc?" he called, hurrying to catch the man. Doctor Green paused, turned to face him. "Doc, would you mind keeping my brother and, uh, his daughter here until Carol is ready to leave? She's riding with us, and I'd rather they be able to lay down until we're all able to go."

Doctor Green nodded. "I suppose I can insist they stay until the girl's temperature is under control." He winked at Sam. "We can probably match that up with the time Ms. Rutherford is ready to go."

"Thanks, Doc," Sam said with relief. "Oh, and I appreciate you checking my brother's throat. I was getting worried too."

Doctor Green patted his arm in response before heading off to check on another patient. Sam headed back to Dean and Rae to find the older nurse standing there holding one of those giant q-tips, probably with his name on it. Bobby stood, offering his chair. Sam groaned as he sat.

"I feel fine," he protested.

The nurse nodded. "That's what they all say."

He couldn't help but gag when it was stuck down his throat. He felt it rub deep down inside his throat. Sam gripped the arms of the chair until the sensation passed.

"All done," the nurse announced.

Sam opened his eyes and closed his mouth. God, that took forever! He glanced over to find Rae watching him with worried eyes. Sam winked at her. She smiled back and relaxed against Dean. Dean who was – asleep?

"Is he out?" Sam whispered to Bobby.

Bobby nodded. "Guess he feels worse than he looks, huh?"

Sam shook his head. "Didn't think that was possible."

--

Dean and Rae were both sound asleep when the doctor released them, announcing that Carol Rutherford was also ready to go. Rae stirred at the sound of the doctor's voice, but Dean didn't move. Bobby found that highly disturbing. He had seen Dean hurt pretty bad in the past, but the boy was always alert in the hospital unless he was drugged. Bobby moved to the doorway so Sam could wake that brother of his, which seemed to be the safest thing to do.

Dean moved slow and groggy. His eyes pleaded with Sam to let him just sleep there, but Sam spoke low and soft, convincing Dean to leave. When Dean reached for Rae, Sam took the girl. Dean just shrugged, following Sam. Now if that wasn't an indicator of how bad the boy felt, Bobby would eat his hat. Damn!

He half expected Dean to take the nurse up on her offer of a wheelchair, but the stubborn boy just shook his head as he followed Sam out of the ER. They found Gary and Carol waiting for them outside, Carol in a wheelchair with a pair of crutches resting across the armrests.

"How about I go get the car?" Bobby suggested, holding a hand out for the keys.

Dean stared at him for a long moment, like his brain needed time to process the words. Then he dug the keys out of his pocket, handed them over. Bobby took them and went in the direction Sam pointed. The Impala usually stood out in any parking lot, so he didn't have to look long.

Bobby drove it to the patient pick-up area. He helped Carol relocate to the backseat while Sam directed Dean into the front. Gary crawled in beside his mom and the boy seemed clingier since being kidnapped, but that was probably a normal reaction. Sam put Rae into the middle of the front seat, over Dean. Bobby tossed Sam the keys as he promised to "Meet ya there."

Sam nodded as he sat behind the wheel. Bobby glanced back as he hurried toward the area where he parked. Dean leaned on the passenger window, eyes closed, and Rae leaned against him. Sam looked almost pale with worry as he started the car. Bobby decided that he needed to hurry. Sam didn't need to worry about Carol as well as his brother and niece.

Bobby parked in a space away from the rooms. He found one close to Carol's and stood in it, to save it for the boys. Although he was somewhat surprised that he beat them to the motel, Bobby was not concerned. He figured Sam was driving slow and careful, trying not to discomfort his passengers.

"So that's what you do?" Carol's voice was barely audible over the engine as Sam parked. "Look for those things?"

The engine shut off, heavy quiet descending in its absence. The smell of fresh pine mingled with exhaust fumes. Afternoon sunlight glittered off the gentle ripples of the lake. It was too bad everybody was sick, this would be a perfect vacation spot.

"You could say that," Sam replied as the car door opened.

Bobby opened Carol's door. She let him help her out. Gary handed the crutches to his mom. She moved experimentally on them towards their room. Bobby hesitated before following, making certain Sam had both Rae and Dean out of the car. Again, Dean did not look pleased to be awake, but he followed quietly.

"Sam!" Bobby called out. "I'll be over there in a few minutes!"

Sam waved back without turning around. Bobby opened Carol's door for her as he checked on the boys again. They disappeared behind the door to their room.

"I guess I'm going to be making a store run," he announced as mother and son collapsed on the beds. "Need anything?"

"Do you do it too?" Carol asked, looking him in the eye. "Go after things like that?"

Bobby scratched the whiskers along his jaw before answering. "Yes, ma'am. Need anything from the store?"

Carol stared at the far wall for what felt like hours. "Food," she finally said. "We haven't eaten all day. Maybe some sandwiches?"

Gary chimed in with, "Yeah, sandwiches. And some ice packs for Mom."

"Gary," Carol responded with a warning voice.

"No, he's right," Bobby assured her, relieved to see the boy taking care of his mother. That was the way families were supposed to act. "I'll go check on the boys, if you two are all right."

Carol looked right at him then. "How long have you known them?"

Bobby rubbed his chin. "Since they were younger than Rae," he admitted.

She nodded then, as if she suddenly understood something. "Then you'd better go check on them. We're not going anywhere."

Bobby gave her a smile of thanks as he closed the door. He tried not to run over to the other room. He knocked lightly, not wanting to wake anyone who might be asleep. Sam opened the door, a look of confusion on his face.

"I'm going to the store," Bobby said in a low voice. "Pudding and ice-pops. Anything else?"

Relief flooded the boy's face. "How about some soup? I'm hoping to get some food into Dean when he wakes up."

"They both asleep?" he asked, trying to see past Sam.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, I was just wondering if I could sneak out to the store."

Bobby rolled his eyes. "I told you I'd be over in a couple of minutes."

"Thanks, Bobby." Sam said sincerely.

Bobby shook his head as he turned away. Dean might be stubborn, but sometimes Sam was about as bright as a brick wall.


	20. Ch20:Family Matters

**Chapter 20: Family Matters**

Sam watched his brother sleeping, wondering about their life now. Even with a raging infection, Dean's body curled around Rae protectively. This was it. This was their life, their world now. It really was the three of them. The three of them.

He checked his watch. Bobby had only been gone an hour. Sam rubbed his hands on his jeans, trying to decide what he could do now. The television would probably disturb Dean and Rae, and he had already read more about strep than he wanted to. He could just do some routine research, maybe find something to hunt after they were all well, but Sam really didn't feel like it.

The book by Dean's bedside, The Wizard of Oz, caught his attention. That's what he could do! Sam spun around to face his laptop, pulled up a fresh search window. What were those books he wanted to research? Little something. Little House? Yeah, like that old Michael Landon television show that Dean used to make fun of. Sam grinned at the computer screen. Definitely Little House, then. After a few more minutes of research Sam made up his mind to at least purchase the first book of the series, Little House in the Big Woods. He planned to read this one before pushing it off on Dean and Rae, though. Maybe Rae would even let him read it to her. In the afternoon, not at bedtime. Or maybe on the road, instead of all the math games. That was a thought.

As Sam pulled up a map of some local bookstores, he heard heavy footsteps outside their door. He raced to the door, pausing briefly at the window to check that it was Bobby. Before Bobby had a chance to knock, Sam yanked the door open with a finger pressed to his lips. Bobby rolled his eyes as he came in.

"Do I have to tiptoe?" he whispered.

Sam nodded, knowing how much it would irritate Bobby. Bobby shoved a bag in his hands in response. Sam took it, freeing up Bobby's other hand to carry a big red ice chest. The bag had a couple of sandwiches, several containers of canned soup and pudding in varied flavors.

"Get enough pudding?" Sam whispered.

Bobby grinned, jerking his head at the bed. "Shouldn't have to be sick just to get pudding."

Sam returned the grin. "Good point."

Bobby hefted the ice chest onto the small motel room table, nearly shoving Sam's laptop off. Sam rescued his computer and set it aside.

"Can you two make any more noise?" A raspy voice barely identifiable as Dean's came from the bed.

"Sorry, Dean," Sam whispered. "Since you're awake, want anything?"

"Quiet," Dean snapped, closing his eyes.

"Ice-pop?" Rae asked as she sat up. Dean released her. As Rae crawled off the bed Dean sprawled out to take over all the available space.

"What flavor, Sunshine?" Bobby asked with a grin as he opened the ice chest.

Sam smiled at the sight. Not for the first time, he was grateful to have the old hunter in their lives.

* * *

Sam sat beside Carol outside, watching the kids play. Now that Rae wasn't contagious and her fever was under control, she had been pretty much bouncing off the walls. That wasn't doing Dean any good, so Sam had suggested she go outside to play with Gary. At least Dean could get some rest. Bobby stood closer to the lake, watching for anything that might jump out at them, Sam supposed.

* * *

Rae was so glad to be outside in the fresh air and sunshine. A person could only be cooped up in one room for so long! She raced around and around in a big circle, the warm sun on her face and arms. Gary stood in the middle of her circle, laughing at her.

"Were you going stir-crazy or something?" he asked as he laughed.

Rae couldn't stop running, even with Gary laughing at her. If the stupid boy got too annoying, she was sure Uncle Sam would let her go back to the room. Besides, they would need to check on Dad soon anyway. It was Rae's job to make sure Dad took his medicine. Dad didn't like pills and sometimes wouldn't take them if Uncle Sam told him to.

"Let's play tag!" Gary shouted at her as she ran.

Rae stuck out an arm, tagged him fast on the elbow, then ran off toward the lake. She laughed loud as Gary tried to catch her. He was slow for being so old!

After a while, Rae tired of playing tag. She sat down on the ground to look out at the lake. It was kind of pretty. Dad's car was prettier, of course, but it was kind of nice here. Gary plopped down next to her.

"Tired already?" he asked. Rae shrugged. "You looked pretty sick the other day. You must be feeling better now."

Rae turned to look at him before she nodded. It felt weird, almost like she wanted to talk to him. He wasn't like Dad or Uncle Sam, and he definitely wasn't like Bobby. But Gary did not scare her. His mom did, even though she seemed like a nice lady, but Gary didn't.

Gary leaned back, closed his eyes as he turned his face toward the sun. "I thought that thing was my dad," he said softly, eyes still closed.

"Why'd you leave your mom?" Rae asked, before she could stop herself.

Gary turned his head, eyes open now, to stare at her. "Good question," he replied. "I'm not sure. I guess I just wanted to know Dad loved me." He pulled his knees up to his chest. "I knew Mom did."

"I don't get it," Rae replied. He was one strange kid. Why in the world would you leave someone who loved you?

Gary shrugged, looking out over the water. "I called my dad from the hospital. He thought Mom made me call because he wasn't paying child support." She saw a tear trickle down his cheek. "He has a new baby. Guess he doesn't need me anymore."

"Sounds like a lousy dad to me," Rae snapped.

Gary shrugged, wiping his cheek as he turned to look at her. "Really?" He seemed to be waiting for something, but she had no idea what. "What is a good dad like?"

Rae chewed her lower lip a little, thinking of how to answer. "I know my dad loves me," she said slowly. "He's always there when I need him and he never acts like I'm a problem." She smiled, thinking of Dad facing down Scary Man. "And he takes real good care of me."

Gary nodded as he turned to look at the lake again. "Wish I had that."

"You do." Gary really was stupid, Rae realized.

His face was all scrunched up when he looked at her again. "I do?"

She pointed to his mom. "Right there. And you don't need to have a mom and a dad, but having an Uncle Sam is really nice. You might want to think about getting one."

Gary's scrunched up face relaxed and he laughed kind of soft. "Yeah, okay, I'll think about it."

"You look tired," Gary said after they sat there not talking for a while. "You need to go take a nap or something?"

Rae thought about it. "Well, Uncle Sam and I should go check on my dad. Make sure he's okay."

"Come on, then." Gary helped her up. They walked back to the adults together. Rae noticed Bobby following them and she smiled at it. She had an awesome family.

* * *

Sam found himself actually enjoying talking to Carol. He worried that all she would want to talk about was things that went bump in the night, but she wanted to talk about Rae. That was one of Sam's favorite subjects, he discovered. She approved of his decision to buy a copy of Little House in The Big Woods and he found that comforting.

Carol mentioned how Rae slept in her clothes, so he guessed Dean had talked to her about that.

Sam shrugged. "Doesn't bother me. I figure she'll get over it eventually, or not. It doesn't really hurt anything."

Carol smiled at him. "That's good. I don't think it's anything to worry about, either." The smile fell from her face. "Are they headed back already?"

Sam saw Gary and Rae headed their way. "Well, Rae has been pretty sick. Maybe she's worn out already. I'm sure it won't last very long, though."

Carol chuckled. "Well, you know where we are. It's not like we're going anywhere any time real soon."

Sam stood, throwing her a grin. "Thanks. I appreciate that. Oh, when do you need to go back for your cast?"

"I have an appointment for tomorrow morning. Think you or Mister Singer can take me?" she asked.

"Sure. No problem," Sam promised. He figured he could stay behind to keep an eye on Dean and Rae while Bobby drove Carol up to the hospital.

Rae looked dead tired as the kids approached. Sam held out his arms to her and she climbed right in.

"Can we check on Dad now?" she asked as she stifled a yawn.

"Yep," Sam replied as her head rested on his shoulder. "You might have to snuggle with Dean, to get him to go back to sleep. Think you can handle that?"

Carol grinned at him as she picked up her crutches. Rae nodded against his shoulder. He noticed Bobby turn to walk Carol and Gary back to their room, so Sam was free to head back without worrying about them. The door to their room opened quietly, mainly due to Bobby's handiness. That Bobby worried about Dean being able to sleep without being disturbed by a creaking door had surprised Sam, but he wasn't about to question it, not when it served his brother so well.

Sam set Rae on the foot of the bed while he woke his brother. Dean woke slowly. When his eyes finally blinked open, his head turned rapidly until his eyes rested on Rae. Sam couldn't help but smile at the sight.

"Is it time for Daddy's medicine?" Rae asked. She sounded just a little anxious.

Sam shook his head. "Not until tonight, but I want to take both of your temperatures."

Rae sighed heavily as Dean sat up against the headboard. Dean motioned to her while Sam prepared the thermometer. Rae crawled up beside him. Sam took their temperatures, first Rae and then Dean, in that order mainly to appease his brother. Rae was fine and his brother's temperature just barely registered on the high side.

"What time is it?" Dean asked. His voice sounded almost normal even if he did look kind of groggy.

"About one in the afternoon," Sam replied.

"Why don't you go grab us some lunch," Dean suggested.

"Really?" Sam asked, studying his brother. "You feel like eating?"

Dean nodded. "I'll bet Rae will eat one of those stupid meals that come with a toy."

Rae's face lit up. "Please, Uncle Sam? Please?"

Sam frowned at them. "You two have been pretty sick, I'd rather you eat something healthy."

"I'm sick of soup, Sam," Dean complained. "I'd like something solid for a change."

"Me too." Rae placed both hands on her hips to glare at him.

Sam wanted to glare back at her, but she was just too cute like that. He chuckled instead, which earned him a sterner glare. Dean just looked pathetic, like the poor guy hadn't eaten a good meal in days, which he hadn't.

"Fine," Sam said with a sigh, as if he were being heavily put upon. "Back soon."

Since he missed the lunch rush, it didn't take long to grab a couple of burgers and a kid's meal from a local drive-thru. Sam returned to find Dean and Bobby chatting with Rae sleeping with her head in Dean's lap.

"You can probably make it there by morning, then be ready to go tomorrow night," Dean said as Sam handed over the kid's meal and a burger. Dean nodded in thanks.

"That's pretty much what I was figuring," Bobby replied. "I'd hate to wait on this one. Tomorrow night is the full moon."

"Werewolf?" Sam asked as he took a seat next to Bobby.

"That's what we were discussing. I got a call from one of my contacts, figured I'd head out and check it out." Bobby shifted a little on the bed, like he might be uncomfortable.

Dean grinned as he unwrapped his burger. "Honestly, I'm surprised you've stuck around this long. Give me a call, let me know how it goes."

Sam cleared his throat, uncomfortable with bringing up Carol now. "One of us is supposed to take Carol in for her cast in the morning."

Dean nodded with a mouth full of burger. "You. Rae and I will hit the park." Rae started to stir. "Maybe we'll take Gary too, get him out of your hair."

Rae sat up slowly. "I like him okay," she said, "but he's still stupid."

Dean shoved the kid's meal in her lap. "See if you got a cool toy."

Bobby chuckled, standing. "Okay, don't you boys be strangers now." He bent over to talk to Rae. "You either, Sunshine."

She beamed at him. "Okay, Bobby. We should go to your house for next Thanksgiving."

Bobby grinned at her. "It's a date."

"You're gonna cook?" Sam asked, amazed.

Bobby shot him a glare over the shoulder. "Shut up, Sam." He headed for the door. "Talk to you in a couple of days." The door slam finalized the end of Bobby's visit.

* * *

Carol sat in the passenger seat of her car with her new walking cast on. She kept lifting her foot, testing the weight. It might have made Sam chuckle, but he was a little too familiar with the weight of casts. She would get used to it in a couple of days.

From the backseat Gary asked, "So are we meeting them at the park?"

"That's the plan," Sam replied, shoving his cell back in his pocket. "Dean isn't answering his phone, but he might have the ringer off. He and Rae take hide and seek very seriously."

Gary laughed. "They'd probably be fun to play paintball with, huh?"

Sam shook his head. "Not unless you like being covered in paint."

"I don't," Carol snapped with a touch too much forcefulness. Sam wondered if it was tied into the trees being out to get her. Probably not, he decided. That would be too weird.

As they turned into the park, Sam noticed a police car with its lights on. Curious, he parked nearby. There was a ring of people around the car, watching. Sam waited on Carol before heading over to see what was so interesting. As they came closer, he heard the familiar sounds of a girl crying her eyes out.

"I said, don't move!" one of the officers shouted. He had a man pinned against the hood of his squad car, cuffed, with a gun pressed to the man's head. "Don't talk! Don't move!"

That man looked entirely too familiar. Sam scanned the area for a familiar face. He saw another police officer leaning into the back of the squad car, which was the source of the crying. Sam shoved past the spectators in his rush.

"Rae!" he shouted, pushing past a large woman with mammory glands a whale would envy. "Sammie Rae!"

The crying was replaced with cries of "Uncle Sam! Uncle Sam!"

Sam raced for the squad car. The officer standing guard over Rae appeared distinctly relieved to see him. She darted out of the back seat into his arms, face red and eyes puffy.

"They're hurting Daddy! Make them stop, Uncle Sam! Make them stop!" she wailed. "Don't let them hurt Daddy!"

Sam wanted to scoop her up into his arms, but now he knew for sure who the man pinned to the front of the squad car was. "Stay here," he ordered as he turned around.

Sam headed for his brother and the officer holding a gun to Dean's head. "Excuse me? What exactly are you arresting my brother for?"

"Nothing, Sam. I swear," Dean said into the car hood, his voice slightly muffled.

"Shut up!" the cop shouted. "We caught this asshole stalking a little girl! Pervert!"

"Stalking?" Sam asked. "Is that what you're calling hide and seek these days?" he demanded. That gun on Dean's head made Sam all kinds of nervous, not to mention totally pissed off.

The cop finally took his eyes off Dean to look at Sam. He had a chance of talking their way out of this now. "Hide and seek?"

Sam nodded. "I'm pretty sure you saw my brother playing hide and seek with his daughter, and I'd really appreciate you pointing that gun someplace other than his head."

"He resisted arrest," the cop snapped, as if that meant Dean was automatically guilty.

"Didn't know hide and seek was against the law here," Dean said, half his face mashed into the car.

Another police car barreled into the park, lights flashing and sirens blasting. As it approached, the sirens went silent. Sam breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the cop Harry jump out.

"What do we got?" he demanded as he rushed forward. Harry stopped dead in his tracks when he recognized Sam. "Sam? What the hell are you doing here?"

Sam motioned to his brother. "Apparently they're arresting Dean for playing hide and seek."

Harry's face went slack. "Dean?" He rushed forward, pulling the other cop back. "Back off, Joe. This is the guy who found all those missing kids."

Joe took a couple of steps back, but he still didn't look convinced. Dean stood and shook his cuffed hands at Harry. Harry snapped his fingers for Joe to hand over the keys. After Dean's hands were free, he glanced around anxiously.

"Sammie Rae!"

She darted around Sam's legs to collide with Dean. He blew out a long breath as he ran a hand over her head.

"Thanks, Harry. You might have mentioned playing with your kid in the park was illegal here," Dean said and actually managed to sound like he was almost joking.

Harry shook his head. "I'm really sorry about this, Dean. I'll talk to them."

Dean gave him a quick head shake. "Don't bother, we won't be sticking around that long. Bye, Harry." He looked at Sam. "Meet you at the motel."

Sam hung back for a moment after Dean and Rae left.

"How was I supposed to know?" Joe demanded. "Did you look at him?"

"He found about a dozen missing kids, you asshole!" Harry snapped. "Just because he wears leather and could kick your ass from here to the moon doesn't automatically make him a bad guy! If you two morons don't figure that out, and I mean soon, I'm going to make sure you get kicked off the force. It's not like this was the first time." Harry shoved Joe in the shoulder before stomping back to his squad car.

Not satisfied in the least, Sam headed back to Carol and Gary. Joe obviously needed an object lesson, and tonight might be the perfect time to give him one.


	21. Ch21:Object Lessons

**Chapter Twenty-One**

**Object Lessons**

Harry heard the raised voices well before he made it back to the office area. Calling that portion of the station 'the office' was a joke. There were no walls, just a bunch of desks lined up, two by two. Everyone had their own computer and phone, and there the resemblance to an actual office ended. They had bulletins and mug shots plastered on all the walls. One section was devoted to wealthy locals' vacation schedules, so they could keep an eye on the empty homes.

Now that he entered the office, he could see as well as hear Joe shouting. The jackass was red in the face, he was so mad. Harry almost felt vindicated in his low opinion of his fellow officer to see Joe lose it like that. Then he realized why Joe was so angry. The stickers for, Harry assumed, Joe's squad car decorated the walls of the office.

"When did you lose those?" Harry asked when Joe sputtered to a stop for a second.

Joe spun on him, shot him the finger, and then collapsed into a chair.

"We have the tape from the security camera?" Harry asked as he dropped his jacket on his desk.

"Right here!" A cheerful voice announced. Peter walked in waving a VHS tape over his head.

"Hit me!" Harry shouted. Peter slung the tape at him over Joe's sudden attempts to leap at it. Harry caught it like a football, using his body as a shield to keep it away from Joe. He headed for the ancient television with a barely functioning VCR, donated to them when the local high school upgraded to DVD.

After he shoved the tape in and started fast-forwarding, looking for the culprits, Harry realized that someone had successfully broken into their station. And for what? A prank? He nearly bypassed the men dressed in black on the tape while his mind wandered.

They were big guys, comparing them with the desks. The guys tacked the magnets that belonged on Joe's car to the wall. Then Harry noticed a third person, also dressed in black. This one was much smaller, probably the reason he didn't notice earlier. One of the grown men was searching through their desks, until he found Joe's. He did something to it, Harry couldn't tell what. Joe rushed back to check his desk drawers.

The small person in black pointed to the camera. One of the men came to that one, nodded and pointed at it too. The other man joined them after finishing with Joe's desk. They lined up, put hands to their mouths, which were visible through the cutouts of the black ski masks, then turned around. The hands that just touched their mouths slapped their butts. It was a group 'kiss my ass' if he ever saw one.

Harry glanced over, but Joe wasn't paying attention. He was too upset over what had to be some kind of fish guts in his bottom drawer. Harry stopped the tape, popped it out. Looked to him like Joe got what he had coming, especially after holding a gun on Dean's head like that. Joe was lucky all he got were the fish guts and a little humiliation. Harry had the impression that Dean could really have gone medieval on his coworker, not that he had any evidence that Dean was responsible for this. Nope. No evidence at all. Especially after he replaced this tape with one from storage.

With all the attention focused on Joe's desk and its disgusting contents, Harry slipped outside unnoticed. He grinned as he pulled the tape out of the black plastic case, allowing it to trail behind him.

--

"Why are we doing this?" Dean asked as Sam pulled up a fresh search screen on the library computer.

"I told you," Sam hissed, trying to stay out of the librarian's sight. The old bag had hushed him several times already. "Because he needs to be taught a lesson about parenting."

"Uh-huh. And you think that after we teach this lesson, because I assume you're not planning on doing this alone, suddenly his father will want to be an awesome dad?" Dean shook his head. "You're dreaming, Sam."

"Dreaming," Rae chimed in. She sat beside Sam at the table, coloring in her activity book. The kid didn't even bother to look up when she sided with Dean. Too bad, she missed all those beaming looks Dean got on his face every time she did it. "Besides, he's a lousy dad. Gary has a good mom and he's thinking about getting an Uncle Sam. So he's good."

Sam looked at her hard then. He glanced over to see Dean with a dazed expression that matched exactly what he was feeling.

"He's getting a…what?" Dean asked softly.

Rae tore her eyes from her book. "He might get an Uncle Sam." She shrugged. "He's thinking about it." Her attention returned to her book. "He should. They need one."

"They need one? An Uncle Sam?" Sam asked, feeling floored. "Why is that, Sunshine?"

Rae sighed deeply, like they were just too dense to remember to breathe properly. She set her crayon down before looking at them. "Isn't it obvious?" she demanded, glaring at them in turn.

Dean exchanged a confused glance with Sam. "To make us take our medicine?" Dean asked.

"To help you with your schoolwork?" Sam suggested.

Rae rolled her eyes and picked up her crayon. "If you two aren't going to take this seriously," she huffed.

"Wait, wait," Dean said, grabbing the crayon. "We are taking it seriously. Now, what do you mean?"

Dean leaned over the table, keeping his head level with hers. Sam copied his brother, but he rested his head on his hands to appear less intimidating. Rae seemed very irritated.

"Excuse me!" A sharp voice interrupted them. Sam looked up at the overbearing librarian, who must have had a horrible childhood to be such a bitch about Rae being in the 'adult' section. "Do I really need to talk to you about keeping your voices down again?"

Dean, who was closer, turned a cold glare on the old battle-axe. "This is a family meeting. You mind?"

The librarian took a step back. Indecision crossed her face as her eyes darted between the three of them. Sam added his glare to Dean's. She did not say another word, she simply left. Finally. Someone who could actually take a hint.

Sam returned his attention to Rae, who stared down at her activity book. "Why do they need an Uncle Sam, Rae?" he asked.

Dean sank back down into his chair. "Come on, spill," he encouraged.

Rae looked right at Sam, that cute confused expression on her face. "Because you help Dad take care of me. He doesn't have to do everything, like Gary's mom does. You're like a…" Her voice trailed off and her eyes dropped away.

"Like a what?" Sam demanded, shaken. What was he like? He glanced over at his brother. Dean shrugged.

"Dude, I've been trying to tell you," Dean said softly. He leaned back in the chair, spreading his hands wide. "You're the mom." He jerked his head at Rae. "She doesn't want to say it because you get so upset with me when I do it."

Sam's eyes snapped back to Rae. Her head hung low and her cheeks glowed red.

"Well," he said slowly, "as long as she doesn't start calling me mom…" Rae didn't move. "Geez, do I at least get a hug?"

Head still down, Rae jumped out of her chair to slam into his chest. Her arms wrapped tight around him. Sam smiled at the top of her head as he hugged her back.

"Well," Dean said after a while, "I don't know if this is a Hallmark or Folger's moment, but I could use some coffee. Rae?"

Her head snapped up, face color closer to normal. "One of those strawberry drinks?" she asked hopefully, one arm still holding tight to Sam.

"I could go for some coffee," Sam replied as he stood. Rae did not let go, but she held out a hand for Dean to take. Sam snagged his notes as they left. No reason to stay here with a hostile librarian. Whatever happened to that stereotype of mousy, shy, bookworms for librarians? That woman could have been a direct descendant of Attila the Hun.

Dean's cell went off as they reached the car. Sam buckled Rae in to allow Dean to answer. It was probably Bobby, checking in.

"Yeah? … Whoa, whoa…" Dean slid behind the wheel, shot Sam a stern look. "Carol, slow down. What happened?" Dean nodded at Sam's notes. It had something to do with Gary's father. "At the house? … How's Gary?" Dean's fingers drummed against the steering wheel. "He's coming back? When? … Actually, I think we can beat him there. We'll call when we're close."

Dean snapped his cell closed.

"Daddy? What's wrong with Gary?" Rae asked, one hand grabbing his arm.

"He has a lousy father," Dean snapped. He softened his hard voice by patting her leg.

Rae relaxed back into the seat. "So much for my strawberry drink," she sighed.

"We'll get it to go," Sam suggested. "I have a feeling your dad and I are going to need the coffee."

Rae crossed her arms over her chest. "Why do lousy dads always screw everything up?" she demanded.

Sam patted the top of her head. "Because that's the only thing they know how to do."

--

Sam waited until Rae was sound asleep, leaning against him, before he asked the question burning in his mind. "So Carol is pretty upset?"

Dean's head snapped to the side. He glanced down at Rae's sleeping form before nodding. "Yeah, she's pretty freaked. I guess she hasn't heard from him in a couple of years and they ran into him at the store. He started going on about something when Gary came back from getting something for Carol. Then it got ugly."

Sam stared at his brother for a moment. "Ugly how?"

Dean shook his head. "She was hysterical, Sam. I could barely understand her. You're going to need to do some heavy-duty touchy-feely crap with her."

Yeah, that stuff always fell on him. "Great. Really looking forward to it."

Dean gave him a half-grin, the one that pretended to be amused when he really wasn't. "That's why I keep you around, little brother."

"You mean so you don't have to do it," Sam growled. He'd like Dean to take that part, just once, but it would probably end in disaster. Dean didn't discuss his own feelings, much less anyone else's.

They rode in silence for a few minutes before Dean let out a long sigh. "I don't want to beat him up in front of Gary, Sam. The man might be a lousy father, but he's still Gary's father."

Sam chewed his lower lip. He hadn't considered that, and he certainly hadn't considered Dean's viewpoint on that. "Then we'll just have to make sure it doesn't come to that."

Dean gave him a worried glance. "Yeah? You think?"

"Yeah," Sam stated firmly. "It won't come to that."

Dean cleared his throat. "Good," he said softly.

Sam's teeth were on edge. No, it couldn't come to that. That would tear Dean apart, probably more than it would ever damage Gary. Dean didn't have many soft spots, but the ones he did have went deep.

"Call Carol for me," Dean said after a while, "I think we're almost there."

Sam called. She sounded pretty calm and very relieved when she learned how close they were. Sam debated with himself on whether or not to ask what had happened to cause the panicked call to Dean. Carol sounded so calm and reassured he decided to wait until they got there.

"Everything okay?" Dean asked. Sam heard the undercurrent of worry in his voice.

"Yeah. I'll ask when we get there what happened," Sam said. "She said it's the house with blue trim."

"Like the one where that guy is pulling into the driveway?"

Sam was jolted back into his seat as Dean hit the gas. The big black car smoked to a stop in front of the driveway, blocking the other car. Dean charged toward the man giving them a confused look as he stepped out of his green sedan.

"No! Wait! Dean!" Carol hobbled out of the front door. "Sam!" She waved at him. "Stop him! That's not Dave!"

"Dean!" Sam shouted at the top of his lungs. "Dean, stop!"

Dean paused, steps shy of being close enough to beat the guy into oblivion.

"Are we there yet?" Rae mumbled, clutching Sam's shirt in her sleep.

"Yeah. Time to get up, Sunshine." Sam released her seatbelt. She must have been pretty tired still, because she wouldn't get out of the car under her own power. Sam lifted her up and carried her up the driveway, where Carol limped toward the strange man with a huge smile on her face.

"Mark!" Carol called out. "What on earth are you doing here?"


	22. Ch22:It's Good to be an Uncle

**Chapter Twenty-two**

**It's Good To Be An Uncle**

Mark looked between Carol and the two men who had arrived a split second after he did. The tall guy looked pleasant enough, but the other one had this ready-to-rumble air about him that Mark did not care for. Plus the tall one had his daughter with him, so maybe Carol was sitting this evening. That still didn't explain the phone call from Gary.

"Mark!" Carol called out. "What on earth are you doing here?" He always did like her smile. Carol was his favorite of all of his brother's girlfriends or wives, and there were a number of the former. The current wife wasn't too bad, but she was no Carol.

"Gary," he replied, only now noticing the huge thing on her foot. "What happened there?"

Carol grinned broadly. "Damn trees."

Mark laughed. "They can hold a grudge." He shook his finger at her. "Didn't I tell you to stay out of forests?"

The grin dropped away. "No choice. Come on inside, I'll introduce you to our new friends." She waved over his shoulder at the two men. "Come on in, Dean! Sam!"

Carol held the door open for the man carrying the little girl. She waited until the other guy came in before allowing it to close.

"Dean, I'm so glad you're here," he heard her say. Mark turned to see her talking to the rumble-guy. "After what happened earlier," she shook her head, "I don't know what will happen if Dave shows up."

"What did happen?" the man still holding the girl asked. "Dean? You mind?"

The rough guy took the little girl, which surprised Mark a little. What surprised him a lot was how the man's whole demeanor seemed to change with the girl in his arms. His stature switched from aggressive to protective. The girl mumbled something when she was passed over.

"Right here," he told her, "I'm right here." The child relaxed against his shoulder, fast asleep.

Carol beamed at Dean. "Wow. It's really amazing how good you are with her," she said. "I swear, I'd never guess she was adopted. Not that that would be a bad thing. I-I mean…"

The Dean guy laughed at her. "It's okay, I get it." He smiled and all of that ready-to-rumble look fell away. "I don't look the type, do I?"

Mark felt ready to jump in, to defend her, but Carol grinned.

"Not at all," she said.

"Which is a good thing," they said together. Mark watched that exchange with no small amount of confusion.

Now Sam laughed. "You two spent way too much time in the car together."

"Because you're a slow-ass digger," Dean snapped, but his face was softer than his words.

"Mark," Carol said, spinning on one foot to face him, "what are you doing here? You didn't say."

"Gary called me," he replied.

Carol's eyebrows rose. "And?"

Mark sighed. "And he said that if I gave one single damn about him then I needed to come over, right now." He shrugged. "Poor kid sounded so upset I just drove over. What's going on, Carol?" He wondered if it had anything to do with the two men in her house now.

"Uncle Mark!" Gary's voice came from upstairs.

He smiled up at the sound. "Downstairs as ordered, sir!"

Heavy feet resounded on the stairs as Gary bolted down the steps. He didn't slow down until he plowed into Mark. Mark could feel the boy's heavy breathing, like he was either winded or really scared. Mark had to peel the boy off. Gary had grown a lot in the past year, when he went down on one knee Gary was taller than him.

As he marveled over how much his nephew had grown since his last birthday party, Mark noticed a deep red mark on one cheek.

"What happened here?" he asked, brushing Gary's cheek with one finger.

Gary's whole face reddened until it nearly matched the red mark. "Dad," he growled.

The big guy, Sam, moved up behind Gary. "Your dad hit you?"

Gary nodded, red-rimmed eyes with tears threatening to fall still fixed on Mark. Out of the corner of his eye Mark saw Sam take Carol aside to talk to her. They left the room together, but Mark only had eyes for Gary.

Gary rubbed his eyes angrily. He seemed to notice that Dean guy now. "That's Rae," he told Mark, motioning to the sleeping girl. "She was kidnapped too."

"Too?" Mark glanced back at Dean briefly. "When were you kidnapped?" His heart throbbed painfully in his chest.

Gary took a few deep breaths, regained his composure. Mark was shocked at how much his nephew had matured. "Last week when Mom and I went on vacation. It got me first, then her. Her dad," he nodded at Dean, "and uncle found us and the other kids."

Mark scratched his chin. "Sounds like we have a lot of catching up to do. First, tell me what the hell happened with your father. He actually hit you?"

His brother could be an insensitive jerk and a complete ass, but he wasn't violent. At least, that was what Mark had always believed.

"I don't want to see him again," Gary whispered. "Last week I would've run away from Mom to see him." He sniffled, grinding his palm into one eye. "I don't want to see him ever, ever again."

How could the kid be so big and yet so young? He wasn't even a teenager yet, Mark reminded himself. Gary sat on the leg he wasn't kneeling down on, and the kid was kind of heavy. His nephew leaned heavily against him, eyes closed. "Uncle Mark, please don't let Dad come over."

Out of his depth, Mark looked up to see if that Dean guy had any suggestions. Dean shrugged at him. "We can keep him out of the house if you want, but that'll only work for as long as we're here. You need to help Carol find a more permanent solution."

He didn't care for the way Dean said 'permanent.' It reeked of … permanency. Okay, so his brother might be a jerk and an ass and hit his own kid, but Mark didn't want to alienate him. Why didn't he want to do that? Mom would have a fit, for one thing. Mom should have a fit over this whole hitting Gary thing, but as far as he knew the woman hadn't called Gary since Dave remarried, so who knew what she might do.

Looking into Gary's deep green eyes, Mark realized what he had to do. Kids couldn't stand up to their parents on their own, but adults could. If Mom dared cross him on this one, then maybe he didn't need to talk to her anymore. Yeah, so she would call every single person he was related to. So what? There was no excuse for hitting Gary. None.

He leaned his cheek against Gary's head, felt the tousled hair rough on his cheek. "I'll take care of it," he promised Gary. "He won't be able to hit you again." Without realizing it, Mark found his fingers deep in Gary's hair as he held his nephew close.

They stayed like that until Mark realized they were being watched. He opened his eyes to find Carol and Sam back in the room. He tried to stand up, but Gary spun around and wound his arms around Mark's neck. Gary was big and heavy but not too big for Mark to pick up. Carol smiled at him.

"I'm glad you came, Mark. Gary has been talking about you since we've been back." She glanced over at the sleeping girl. "I have a feeling it was something Rae said."

Sam cleared his throat. "I need to talk to my brother for a moment. Excuse us." He motioned for Dean to go with him into the other room, leaving Mark alone with Carol.

"What happened?" Mark asked. Gary's arms tightened around his neck.

Carol sighed. "Honestly, Mark, it's all pretty much a blur. We only got home this morning. Believe it or not, I can drive with my left foot."

"Kinda," Gary mumbled.

Carol eyed Gary curiously. "I heard that. Anyway, I decided to stop at that new super-center in town to pick up a few things. I sent Gary off to grab some toilet paper. While he was gone, Dave walked right up to me. I had no idea he was there until I turned around. Like to scare me half to death! Well, Dave started yelling at me for making Gary call him, using his own son against him, crap like that. Then Gary came tearing around the corner like his pants were on fire and plowed right into Dave. Knocked him over." Her eyes shone with something. Pride? "We still need to get some toilet paper."

Mark took a deep breath before speaking again. "How did Gary get that mark on his face?"

"Oh. That." Carol shrugged but her eyes beamed with that same light. "Dave didn't seem to like his son sticking up for his ex. When he stood up, he hit Gary, like that." She motioned, miming striking the boy with the backside of her hand. "That's when Gary really got mad. Dave actually backed off, fortunately, so I was able to get Gary outside to the car. He seemed to calm down after we came home, but maybe that was after he called you." Carol shrugged. "I've never seen Dave like that, I didn't know what else to do but come right home."

"Why are those men here?" he hissed.

"Dave called me about an hour later, said he was coming by to clear things up." Carol sighed. "I told him not to, to leave us alone, but you know how well your brother listens, so I called Dean. I figured if anybody could handle Dave, it'd be him."

"Why him? Does this have anything to do with Gary being kidnapped?" Mark asked. It would make sense for her to put her trust in a stranger if that same stranger had already saved Gary once. He shouldn't feel slighted that she didn't think to call him first, but he was hurt that she didn't call when Gary was missing.

--

"Carol has asked us to stay for a couple of days," Sam whispered. "At least until her ex has some time to cool off."

"Sam, we're not bodyguards," Dean hissed. "We hunt the ghosts of lunatic fathers, not living lunatic fathers."

"I know, I know," Sam replied, eyes darting constantly to the door that led back to Carol. "But I thought, you know, since Rae actually talks to Gary…"

Dean rolled his eyes. He hated that Sam always knew the right thing to say to make him cave. "I guess a couple of days won't hurt. But you're going to keep researching for our next hunt."

"Promise." Sam grinned, glancing around. "Can you believe it? We're going to stay in a house."

Dean shook his head at his little brother. Rae moved on his shoulder. "Are you finally waking up?" he asked her. "We're at Gary's house."

"Hmm?" She lifted her head. Heavy-lidded eyes blinked slowly. "Where?"

Sam ran a hand over her back. "We're going to stay with Gary and his mom for a little while. How does that sound?"

Rae shrugged, leaned on his shoulder again. "I don't care."

"Think Carol would mind if Rae and I took over her couch?" Dean asked. Rae didn't really weigh a whole lot, but she got pretty heavy after carrying her around for a while.

"Poor kid," Sam breathed, moving even closer. "That strep really took it out of her, didn't it?"

Dean glared at his brother. "Yeah. Me, too."

Sam did a double-take. "Oh, right. Couch. I'm sure she has one."

Dean shook his head at Sam's back as he followed his little brother on a quick excursion of the rest of the downstairs. There was a sofa, more of a two-seater than something company could sleep on, but it would work. Dean sank down gratefully on it. He moved Rae around to let her stretch out and still keep her head in his lap. That was more like it. Usually he could go a lot longer before she started feeling that heavy. He stretched his complaining back and neck muscles.

"Who knows," Dean said to his brother, "maybe the loser won't bother showing up at all. Did you see the look on that guy's face when Gary said his dad hit him?" Dean jerked his head toward the entryway. "I wouldn't want to face him if I were Gary's dad."

Sam scowled, looking more bitter than Dean could ever recall seeing before. "You wouldn't have hit Gary."

Dean sighed. He had a feeling this might come up. It was probably time to finally bring up something that had been bugging him. "I've hit you before, Sam." Here he practically raised Sam by himself and had actually hit the kid once with the intention of hurting him. "Who knows what I would have done in that guy's place?"

Sam's eyes hardened and he actually looked angrier, something Dean would have sworn a moment ago was not possible. "Me. You wouldn't have hit him, Dean." Then Sam's face softened a little. "You really are a good dad."

Dean stared at his brother for a moment, not really sure what to make of that. Finally, he decided to just joke it off. "You're a little tall for a mom."

Sam chuckled, standing. "You two can stay here and rest up. I'll go grab our stuff from the car, and move it so Mark can leave when he wants to."

"Good idea," Dean replied as he leaned back. "I think I left the keys in it."

Dean must have dozed while Sam was gone, because it seemed like only a split second had passed when Sam dropped their stuff next to the sofa.

"Sorry," Sam whispered, lowering Rae's backpack with all her clothes softly to the floor. "Go back to sleep. I'll wake you up when it's time for your medicine."

"Mother hen," Dean muttered, but he let his eyes fall closed. As he drifted off he really hoped Gary's father wouldn't show up tonight, because then he'd have to wake up.

--

Dave stopped the car in front of his ex-wife's house. At least, he thought it was her house. It had been about a year since he had been here and there was an unfamiliar black car parked out front. Realizing that the second car in the driveway was his brother Mark's was unsettling. Since when did Mark come out here without him, anyway? Come to think of it, what business did Mark have here without him? Great, now he had something else that needed his attention.

He parked behind Carol's car, piece of crap that it was. She just had to have it in the divorce, and that had been fine with him. It was just a stupid, boring sedan anyway. They bought it right before Gary was born, he remembered. That gave him a moment's pause, as memories of Gary as a baby flooded his mind. Dave let out a loud sigh.

When Gary attacked him in the store, he honestly had not recognized his own son for a moment. He had never seen Gary upset like that before. To see the boy so angry, with him, was frightening. He hadn't meant to slap his son like that, but at the time it was all he could think to do. He had wanted to snap Gary out of it, back to normal. It didn't work. Dave had watched, stunned, as Carol put herself between him and their son to force Gary outside. Dave had followed from a distance. What he saw happen outside did not help to ease his mind. Gary still looked extremely upset, to the point that Dave realized that the boy was not acting, that he might actually be that mad. Hadn't Dave told him not to be angry with him? That this just wasn't a good time for issues? He had a new wife and baby to worry about, he didn't need issues with Gary too.

Dave pocketed his keys as he stepped out of the car. Hopefully Carol had been able to make Gary see a little reason and calm down. It wasn't like any of it had been Dave's fault, after all. It wasn't like he had any choice in what happened. Once Gary realized that, maybe everything could get back to normal.


	23. Ch23:When You Need An Uncle

**Chapter Twenty-three**

**When You Need An Uncle…**

He was stretched out on a beach, the sun warming his skin despite a constant cooling ocean breeze. In the distance he could hear Rae and Sam playing in the surf. A pounding noise caught Dean's attention. He sat up, shielding his eyes from the sun. A large boat, out of place in this otherwise empty tourist beach, collided with a pier that stretched far out into the water. Again and again it hit, pounding the pier mercilessly.

"Dean!"

It was Sam's voice, but wasn't his brother still playing with Rae in the water? Sam would never leave her alone.

"Dean! He's here!"

Dean blinked heavy eyelids, his eyes requiring a moment to focus on his little brother. Oh, right. They were still at Carol's house. He must have been dreaming, damn it.

"What is it?" he asked, trying to move gently out from under Rae. "Is it Gary's dad?"

"Don't call him a dad," Rae snapped, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "He's a father."

"What's the difference?" Sam asked her as Dean stood.

"There's a humongous difference," Rae's voice followed him as he headed for the front door, leaving Rae in Sam's protection.

* * *

They weren't answering the door. Aggravated, Dave pounded harder. They must not be hearing him. Maybe Gary was upstairs playing a video game or something. That boy played too many video games. Perhaps it was time Dave took a firmer hand with his son. After all, he couldn't have the boy getting crazy ideas from his mother.

It couldn't be too difficult to get custody from his ex-wife. He doubted she had the money to fight him in court anyway. Dave grinned as he realized a serious upside to this plan. After Gary moved in, he and his current wife would have a live-in baby sitter.

* * *

Somebody was really beating on the door. Worried, Rae followed close behind Uncle Sam. From between Uncle Sam's legs, she watched Dad head for the front door. As Gary's mom stood aside for Dad to open the door, Uncle Sam shoved her onto the stairs next to Gary. Some guy stood next to Uncle Sam.

"Who's that?" Rae whispered to Gary.

"Uncle Mark," Gary whispered back.

Rae stared at him for a moment. "You already had an uncle?" Gary nodded. "Why weren't you using him?" she demanded.

Gary shrugged.

Rae shook her head at him. "Unbelievable," she muttered. How stupid could one boy be? Maybe Dad was right and boys were nothing but trouble.

Gary nudged her in the side. "Shut up," he hissed. "I'm trying _now_!"

Rae started to voice her opinion on that too, but Uncle Sam gave her the 'knock it off' look. She sighed and sat down on the stairs. Gary sat between her and the wall.

"Wow," Gary whispered. "He takes being an uncle seriously, huh?"

"You have no idea," she told him, careful to keep her voice as soft as possible. Gary scooted closer to the wall, tugging on Rae to sit even closer to him. She glanced over to be sure Dad wasn't looking before sidling right up against Gary. When her leg pressed against his, she noticed that he was shivering. It wasn't cold in here. Maybe Gary was getting sick.

She started to move away, not wanting to get sick again, but Gary grabbed her arm. He held her arm so tightly that Rae realized he was scared. Really scared. She glared at the door where the pounding had just stopped. It was pretty obvious why Gary was so scared. Scared of your own father. Now that was sick.

Dad nodded to Carol who stepped back. He opened the door a little. "Uh, can I help you?"

Rae grinned at the tone of Dad's voice. How did he do that? How did Dad manage to sound scary and totally calm at the same time?

"I'm here to see my son! Open this door!" The man outside shouted.

"I'm sorry," Dad said, "who are you?"

"Gary's dad!" he shouted as the door slammed open violently. Rae watched Dad stand in front of Gary's mom, protecting Gary's mom the way he always protected her. Her dad was the best! Gary's father, because Rae refused to think of him as a dad, walked into the house. Uncle Sam and Gary's uncle took a couple of steps forward.

"Mark, I knew that was your car." Gary's father shouted. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking after Gary," Gary's uncle snapped, "since his father obviously doesn't give a damn!"

Gary's father turned really red in the face. Rae grinned. She liked seeing the bad guys get mad when somebody told them the truth. Once Dad told this ghost what a lousy human being he had been, and the ghost nearly blew his own house down. That had been awesome.

"What makes you think I don't give a damn?" the father demanded.

Gary's Uncle Mark glared. "Maybe the fact you haven't bothered to see him in a year now? That I've been to more of his birthday parties than you have? Hell, Dave, you don't even call him!"

"I call!" his father shouted. "When I need to call, I call!"

"When _you_ need to call?" Uncle Mark shouted back. "How about when Gary needs a call, you selfish bastard!"

Gary's father turned to look at the stairs. Gary sat between the far wall and her. Rae turned to glare at the man who dared to call himself a dad. He was not getting past them to get to Gary. She crossed her arms over her chest.

With a growl, Gary's father lunged over the stair rail. With wide eyes, Rae watched as he reached for her. Oh, crap! She opened her mouth to scream when something huge appeared between her and the man. After she blinked, Rae could see Uncle Sam leaning on the stairs, holding himself up with one hand. The other hand was balled in a fist and his head was turned to look through the stair railing.

Curious, Rae stood up to see what Uncle Sam was staring at. Dad and Gary's mom were looking down at something too. Rae had to stand on tiptoe to look over Uncle Sam. Gary's father was on the floor downstairs, sleeping. Weird time for a nap, wasn't it?

"Come on, Gary." Uncle Mark came up the stairs. "Let's go to your room."

Gary's hand tightened on Rae's arm again.

"She can come too. Upstairs, both of you."

Uncle Sam's head turned to look at her. "Go on," he ordered. "Dean'll be up in a minute."

So Rae went upstairs, still wondering why Gary's father would fall asleep now. That was really strange. Uncle Mark closed the door to Gary's room after they were all inside.

"Video game?" Uncle Mark asked softly.

Gary, still holding on to her arm, turned Rae to face him. "I see what you mean about uncles now." A couple of tears trickled down his cheeks. "Think my Uncle Mark can be like Uncle Sam?"

Rae shrugged. "Maybe he just needs some practice," she said in his ear.

"Will you two be okay here by yourselves for a minute?" Uncle Mark asked. "I want to check on things downstairs."

Rae's heart beat faster. She didn't like that idea.

A soft knock sounded on Gary's door. "It's me," said Dad's voice.

Rae instantly relaxed. "My dad," she whispered to Gary.

"We'll be fine with Dean," Gary told his uncle. Uncle Mark opened the door, letting Dad in. He and Dad whispered to each other before Uncle Mark left.

"So…" Dad rubbed his hands together, looking around the room. "I hear you have some awesome video games?"

* * *

Mark rushed back downstairs, wondering what they were planning to do with Dave. When he had first seen Dean and Sam, he had to admit he had judged them pretty quickly. Now he knew that Dean was the doting father and Sam was the ready-to-rumble guy. Boy, had he had that backwards!

Dave was still out cold on the floor, where that left hook from Sam put him. Well, Dave did have that coming, considering how he tried to grab the little girl. Carol stood near Dave, wringing her hands, and Sam glared down.

"Where's your house phone?" Mark asked as he hit the bottom floor.

"Kitchen," Carol answered. "What are you planning to do?"

"Call the police," he snapped. "Dave broke in and tried to attack your houseguests. That ought to be good enough to get a restraining order."

"Uh, we'd rather not deal with the police," Sam said quietly. "There's probably another way to handle this."

"Dean doesn't make a great first impression with law enforcement," Carol added quickly. "They'll probably assume he started it."

Mark hesitated. "I'll say I hit him, when he reached for Gary. They can stay upstairs in Gary's room. We'll tell the cops that Gary is too shaken up to talk to them."

Carol looked to Sam, of all people, for a decision.

"Carol," Mark insisted, "we have to do something. You know what Dave is like. He's going to take this personally, and he'll want to do something about it. I think this kind of goes beyond just calling Mom. He'll try to get custody of Gary."

Carol blanched. "He wouldn't. He can't. He doesn't even care!" She added the last part in a whisper.

"No," Mark agreed, "but he does care how this makes him look." Mark looked at Sam. "You understand, the macho thing."

Sam's eyes flashed upstairs. "No, not really. There's a different kind of macho in my family."

Mark grinned suddenly. "I bet Dave won't remember who actually hit him anyway. This will work, Carol, and you can get a restraining order against him."

She chewed her bottom lip. "For the past year I've been hoping Dave would come to see Gary, and now we're talking about restraining orders." She shook her head. "How did our lives get so screwed up?"

"I think it started the day you met my brother," Mark told her. "Fortunately for you and Gary, you have an amazing brother-in-law." He headed out of the room to grab the phone before Carol or Sam could protest again. Mark called in the attack on his nephew before returning to Carol. She and Sam were still talking. Sam sounded rather anxious. Mark paused just outside the room, in the short hall leading to the kitchen.

"We can stay at a motel nearby," Sam said. "I don't want Dean to be here if he's calling the police."

"Please, Sam, stay," Carol pleaded. "Dave might wake up before they get here. I – I don't know what would happen. Sam, please. I promise, I won't let anyone go upstairs. I'll tell them that your car belongs to the neighbors. Please don't leave."

"Well…" Sam cleared his throat. "Maybe I could move the car over a couple of blocks. Avoid some questions."

"Thank you, Sam!" Carol gushed. "But, uh, Dean will stay here while you move the car, right?"

"Gary will be fine, Carol," Sam replied, sounding authoritative. "But yes, I'll leave Dean here while I move the car. Speaking of which, maybe you should go get Mark to stand watch while I'm gone."

"Oh, right! Mark!" Carol called out.

Mark decided he couldn't hide out any longer. He counted to three before stepping into view. "Okay, they should be on their way," he announced.

"In that case, I'll move the car." Sam pulled a cell phone out of his pocket as he headed for the front door. "I'll have Dean keep watch at the window," he told them as he pulled the door closed behind him.

Mark stared at the closed door as he asked, "He's calling his brother? From the driveway?"

Carol chuckled. "They're a little different, but they're good men."

When he faced her, she was serious again. "If it weren't for them, I… I…" Carol had to take a deep breath before continuing. "Gary disappeared. Dean and Sam were the first to volunteer for the search party, while we still thought he might just be lost. While Dean led the search party..." She stopped, hands wringing.

"Yeah?" Mark leaned against the stair banister. He glanced down at his unconscious brother. Still out. If he had known Dave had a glass jaw when they were kids, well, things would have been different. "What happened while Dean was in the search party?"

Carol's hands were certainly getting a workout. "His daughter was taken," she whispered.

Mark pointed to the front door. "Where was he?"

Carol shrugged. "I don't know, but I still feel guilty. If he hadn't been looking for Gary…"

"Hey, hey." Mark hesitated before resting a hand on her shoulder. "You can't blame yourself. Besides, the kids are fine, right? Isn't that what really counts?"

Carol lifted her head. Her eyes rested on Gary's door upstairs. "Yes. It is."

Mark dropped his hand away. "So, I was wondering something."

Her gaze dropped down to him. "What is it, Mark?"

Did he really have any right to ask? "Why didn't you call me? When Gary disappeared?"

Carol stared, then her hands started that damned wringing thing again. "Oh, uh, well, I didn't… I mean, it never occurred to me that… Would you have… Oh, I'm not…"

A groan near his feet distracted Mark from Carol's attempt at an answer. Actually, the fact she had to attempt was all the answer he really needed. Mark hadn't been around much more than Dave this past year, why would Carol have turned to him? For someone to understand she can depend on you in a crisis, you have to already be there for her. For them.

Mark kneeled down next to his brother, the asshole. Now that he really thought about it, Dave had always been an asshole. And Dave was the master of getting Mom on his side. Mark shoved his brother over so he was flat on his stomach. Then Mark sat on Dave's back, to a second groan. That ought to hold Dave until the cops got here.

As Mark contemplated what he would say when their mother inevitably called, he realized that he had the opportunity to call first, for a change.

"Bring me the phone," Mark told Carol. She turned to him with a confused look. "Trust me."

Carol shrugged. She left and came back holding the cordless phone. Mark took it, dialed his mother's number.

"Hello?" Oooo, the woman really was a vindictive witch if that tone was anything to go by.

"Mom, it's Mark," he said. "I wanted to call you before the cops got here." He noticed the trill of sirens in the distance.

"Police?" Now Mom sounded panicked. "Mark, what kind of trouble are you in? Do I need to call a lawyer?"

"Nope. It's not me. It's Dave," he said firmly.

"Dave? Why would Dave need a lawyer?" she asked.

"Because," he drew that word out, enjoying this, "Mister Perfect just broke in and attacked his son."

"The baby?" she said, sounding suspicious.

"No," Mark replied, annoyed. "His first son, Mom. The one that used to be your favorite, remember?"

"Mark," Mom said with that overbearing tone in her voice, "you are meddling in things that are none of your business."

"None of my business?" Was she serious? "My brother hits my nephew and it's none of my business?"

"Dave wouldn't hit anyone," she insisted. "Gary just has an overactive imagination."

"Oh, yeah," Mark snapped sarcastically as the sirens drew close. "I suppose the bruise on his cheek is just the product of his imagination. And the way I watched Dave try to attack him, that was my imagination running wild. Sure, Mom. You know, I'm going to have to let you go, the police are here."

Mark stabbed the off button before tossing the phone to Carol. "Sometimes I really hate that woman," he muttered.

Carol snorted. "Try having her for an ex-mother-in-law."

"I may be working on ex-mother," he admitted, feeling the steam coming from his ears. Mark motioned to the door as Carol's eyes widened and the sirens stopped. "You'd better let them in, my ass is falling asleep."

She chuckled a little, though Mark didn't hear any mirth in it. Carol opened the door to two uniformed police officers hurrying their way. Sam still wasn't back, but he might have heard the sirens and stayed with the car. Mark had the impression that neither brother cared for the police too much.

The two officers stared at him still sitting on Mark as Carol started to explain the situation.


	24. Ch24:Real Parents

Well, I want to thank everyone following this. You SR fans rock!! (Not to mention, keep me busy.) Probably just one more chapter left, if I can tie up all the loose ends in it. But this chapter needed to stand by itself, because I really like the last scene here. After you read it, you'll know why. And yes, I know I'm warped. I kind of think that goes without saying at this point.

Also BIG thanks to the Hunter's Stop Fanfiction Newsletter. I've never been highlighted anyplace before! (I hope my feet will touch the ground in time for work tomorrow...)

**Chapter Twenty-four**

**Real Parents**

Gary sat on the other side of Rae as her dad played against him in the racing game they had on. Rae cheered each time her dad made a good turn without going off the track. He thought he heard voices downstairs. When he turned his head to study the door, trying to hear what was going on downstairs, Dean turned up the sound.

"Come on," Dean said, shoving him gently in the shoulder, "you can't stop now. Not when I'm kicking your ass."

Gary snorted. "We're still playing on level one. Anybody can win on level one."

"Oh yeah?" Dean paused the game. "Go on, big-shot. Any level you want, I'll still wipe the floor with you." He grinned.

Gary felt relieved to be here with Rae's dad, as long as the man was on his side. As scary as he had been in the woods that night, Gary figured he would do anything to protect Rae. Gary was safe here with Rae. He hoped they could stay for a while.

As he set the game for a higher level, Gary felt a little jealous that Rae had such a great dad and he didn't. Then he remembered that she didn't have a mom, not like he did. Would he trade his mom for a good dad? Nah, not even a great dad.

Dean got up, peeked out his bedroom window. When he turned around, he gave them a grin. "Got it ready yet?" He pulled out his cell phone.

"Almost," Gary replied, setting up their cars just like level one.

"Sam? Where are you?" Dean said into his phone. "They just got here. … Yeah, I'll call you. … You, too." He slid the phone into his pocket. "We ready?"

"I think he's ready, Daddy," Rae said, staring at the television screen.

"Took you long enough," he said, sitting down again. This time Rae sat in his lap. Dean gave her a funny look.

"Are we playing this game or not?" Rae demanded.

Dean chuckled, picking up his controller. Gary scooted over to sit a little closer to them, feeling secure here. They played for a while, until there were steps outside the door. Dean stiffened, his car crashing into a billboard. Gary stopped the game, staring fearfully at his door.

There was a light knock. "It's me," Mom called out. "They're gone."

Gary jumped up, rushed to the door. He threw it open and launched himself at his mother. "All of them?" he demanded.

"Yes," she whispered, "all of them."

He hugged her tight. "What about Uncle Mark?"

She laughed a little. "I think he's calling a few members of the family."

Gary pulled back to see his mom's face. "Not Grammy?"

Mom rolled her eyes. "He already did."

"And?" he demanded.

Mom shrugged. "Same old Grammy."

"Figures," he muttered. "Can I go downstairs, see Uncle Mark?"

"Sure, honey," Mom said, running her hand through his hair. "Go on."

Gary glanced back into his room before rushing downstairs. Dean was already on the phone, probably calling Uncle Sam and telling him to come back. Rae turned off the television. She looked over and gave him a smile.

"I'm going to check on Uncle Mark," he told her.

Rae nodded and waved him away. Gary waved back before he bolted downstairs. "Uncle Mark!"

He scoured the downstairs until he found his uncle in the kitchen talking on the phone. Uncle Mark's face was kind of red, the way he usually looked when he was mad. Gary stopped in the doorway, not wanting to aggravate Uncle Mark more. Uncle Mark looked over at him and then did the last thing Gary expected, he smiled. Emboldened, Gary walked over to his uncle. Uncle Mark waved him closer. Next thing Gary knew, his uncle had an arm around him and was hugging him close.

Gary relaxed against Uncle Mark, so glad he came. This horrible tightness that had rested inside his chest for a long time now loosened some, enough for Gary to take a deep breath. He didn't understand why his face felt wet, or why he wanted to hold on to Uncle Mark so tight. He didn't even notice when Uncle Mark put the phone down, but he did notice when Uncle Mark picked him up again.

"That's right," Uncle Mark said softly, "you just let it all out. It's okay."

Gary just felt so tired as he clung to Uncle Mark's neck, so tired of everything. He finally let himself do something he had sworn he would never do again. He cried. Really cried. Right there on Uncle Mark's shoulder, he cried. He cried because Dad left and didn't care. He cried because he didn't want to move into this house. He cried because Mom had to work so hard to take care of them. He cried because Mom tried so hard to make him happy and she wasn't the one he wanted trying. As he cried that horrible tightness released, flowing out through his sobs and he couldn't stop. He just couldn't. Mom came in, rubbed his back, talked to him, but Gary couldn't understand her and he just could not stop.

Finally he was too tired to even cry. Gary closed his eyes, still clinging to Uncle Mark's neck.

* * *

He heard the crying from upstairs. Dean started to head down to see what was happening. As he stepped out on the landing Sam came through the front door. Dean waved his brother toward the sounds of crying. Sam frowned but he followed the sound.

"Dad? What's wrong?" Rae asked, coming up behind him.

"Probably nothing," he said, turning around to face her. "Uncle Sam is going to check."

She wrinkled her nose in that really cute way she had. "Can you believe Gary had an uncle all this time? And he wasn't using him?"

Dean raised both eyebrows at her. "And he wasn't using him? You mean, Gary should have been using his uncle?"

"Of course," she snapped. "That's what uncles are for."

He stared down at her for a moment. Who knew one little kid could constantly throw him for loops like this? "What are uncles for?"

Rae clapped a hand to her forehead. "Come on, Dad! Do we really have to go through this again?"

Oh, right, the mom thing. So uncles were supposed to be substitutes for missing parents, is that what Rae believed? And was that a bad thing? Dean decided not to contradict her; it was probably a good idea at that.

Sam appeared in the bedroom door soon after that.

"It's Gary," he said as he closed the door gently behind him. "Carol says Gary hasn't cried, not really, since his father moved out."

"Making up for lost time?" Dean asked. The sounds of sobbing could still be heard.

Sam shrugged. "I guess." He knelt down in front of Rae. "Hey, Sunshine. Are you all right? That man didn't touch you, did he?"

Rae beamed at Sam. "No, sir. Thanks, Uncle Sam." She held out her arms to him. "I still don't get why he took that nap, though."

Sam scooped her up in a hug with a chuckle. Well, maybe Rae wasn't so far off-base. Sam did make a half-way decent mom, in a butch, ass-kicking kind of way.

Dean noticed the shelf full of Transformer toys. "Dude, check it out!" he said, grabbing the bad guy who turned into a gun. "He has the good ones!" He held it up to show his brother.

Sam rolled his eyes, shaking his head. Surely he could still work one of these toys. It hadn't been that long.

* * *

Mark stood behind Carol, still carrying Gary. Dean, Sam and the little girl were playing with Gary's Transformers collection in the floor. They hurried to clear the floor so he could put Gary to bed. Poor kid had a hell of a day.

Mark followed the others out and down the stairs. On impulse, he reached out to tap Sam's shoulder. Sam looked back at him, confused. Mark jerked his head toward the kitchen.

Dean and his daughter headed straight for the living room. Mark could hear them discussing if they could find any cartoons on.

"Really gets into the dad thing, doesn't he?" he asked Sam as they entered the kitchen.

Sam shrugged. "Actually, I think he likes the cartoons as much as she does. But, yeah, my brother is a good dad." He stared at Mark for a moment. "So what is it?"

Mark's eyes caught the coffee maker. "Want some coffee?" he asked hopefully.

Sam shrugged again. "Whatever."

Mark looked through Carol's cabinets for the ground coffee. "I, uh, wanted to thank you." He put in a fresh filter, added the coffee. "For jumping between my brother and the girl, your niece." He took the pot over to the sink to fill it.

Sam cleared his throat. "I was more worried about my brother," he said in a soft voice.

Mark shut off the water, turned around. "What?"

His eyes went to the wall that separated them from the den. "If he had hurt Rae," Sam sighed, shook his head. "I didn't want to find out what Dean would have done."

Mark finished filling the pot. He poured the water into the coffee maker before speaking again. "Well, thanks. I don't know that I'll ever be able to forgive him for hitting Gary, but you stopped it from really getting nasty."

"That was the plan," Sam said, leaning back against the counter. "How far from Carol and Gary do you live?"

Short perking sounds came from the coffee maker.

"It takes between thirty minutes and an hour to get here, depending on traffic," Mark told him.

Sam shook his head. "Too far. I noticed there are extra rooms upstairs. Why don't you move into one, until you get your own place close by?"

Mark chuckled a little at that assumption. "I don't think Carol will go for that."

Sam's intense stare made him really uncomfortable. "Have you talked to her about it? She's pretty freaked. I don't think she wants to be here on her own."

"It's kind of far to drive for work," Mark tried to find a reasonable excuse not to bring it up with Carol.

"Get another job," Sam replied evenly. Mark waited for the punch line. Sam had to be joking. "What's more important? Your job? Or Gary?"

That was the worst punch line Mark ever heard. "I'll talk to her about it," he heard himself promising.

"Good." Sam motioned to the coffee pot. "Holler at me when it's ready and I'll help pass it out. I'm going to check on my brother and niece."

"Do you really think…" Mark started to ask Sam's back. "Your brother, you think he would have…" He let the question hang.

Sam had a strange, tense expression when his head turned. "I didn't want to find out." He pushed out through the door to the den.

Mark returned his attention to the coffee. Since when did it take so long to make coffee? Mark decided he was not ready for fatherhood if Dean was anything to go by. But being an uncle like Sam, he might be able to do that.

The coffee pot was nearly filled when Carol came in. "Wanted to see if you needed any help," she said.

Mark shrugged. "It's almost ready. Carol?" he paused, nearly losing his nerve.

"What, Mark?" she asked. She moved closer to him. "Did you and Sam have a nice talk?" There was a sparkle in her eyes he did not understand.

"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah. I guess." He scratched the back of his neck, nervous. "Uh, what would you think if I… I mean, could I possibly…" Mark sighed. Too late. He had already lost what little nerve he had.

Carol giggled. "Oh, I wouldn't mind," she said lightly as she pulled some mugs off the top shelf. "It's Dean you have to worry about."

Mark stared at her. "What?"

She threw him a grin over her shoulder. "Oh, come on. He's the protective type. You'll never be good enough for his brother, but don't let that stop you."

"What?" His vocabulary had been reduced to one word. What the hell was Carol talking about?

"Mark!" Carol snapped. That was when he noticed the hand waving in front of his face. He grabbed it, pulling Carol's hand down. "Mark, are you okay?"

"I'm not sure," he said slowly. "What are you talking about?"

"You asking Sam out," she said, her brow furrowing. "That was what you were talking about, right?"

Mark shook his head slowly. "No. I was going to ask what you thought of me moving in here for a little while, until we get Dave under control - Why the hell do you think I'm gay?"

Carol's mouth opened a couple of times, but nothing came out.

"Carol?" he demanded, still holding her hand tightly.

"You're…not…gay?" she squeaked.

Mark shook his head slowly from side to side.

"But-but I've never seen you with a woman. I mean, you never seemed to have any girlfriends," she protested, the words tumbling from her mouth. "Or dates."

Mark frowned down at her. "I wouldn't bring some girl around Gary unless I was serious about her. Was that the only reason?"

Carol chewed her bottom lip for a moment. "Dave might have said something, when we were dating." Mark released her hand, groaning. "Well, I think I mentioned that you were kind of cute, and then he told me – uh, that."

Mark braced himself against the kitchen counter. "Dave told you. Well, that explains a lot. That son-of-a…" Then her words penetrated his anger. "You told him I was cute?" he asked the wall, not daring to look at her when he asked.

"You want to move in?" she asked from behind him.

Mark turned around, facing Carol's hopeful face and that smile he liked so much.

"Yeah," he breathed out. "It doesn't have to be forever, just until you're both comfortable."

She reached hesitantly for his hand, gave it a squeeze. "I'd like that. Thanks."

Mark squeezed back. "Great. Me too."


	25. Ch25:Surprise!

Okay, last chapter is up! Tona, darlin', I hope the move went well and as always, this is for you!

Big thanks to _Charis Kalos_ for her awesome editing for the past few chapters.

Yes, there are plans for future SR fics, but I have a couple of other stories to tie up first. (And I think my theological adviser may jump on a plane to come put the fear of God into me if I don't get back on L&D real soon!)

**Chapter Twenty-five**

**Surprise!**

"Daddy?" Rae shifted to look up at Dad, since she was sitting in his lap. "When are we going home?"

"Home?" Dad frowned down at her. "You want to know when we're going to hit the road?"

Rae nodded.

Dad shrugged and grinned. "Go ask Uncle Sam. He's the only reason we've been here this long."

Rae groaned. "You two aren't going to keep sending me back and forth, asking the same question over and over again, are you?"

Dad's grin faded. "Well, not any more." He pushed her off his lap. "Go on, go talk to Uncle Sam."

She stopped before leaving the room. Dad still looked kind of tired. "Aren't you feeling better yet? I feel fine."

Dad smiled at her again. "I'm fine, Rae. Go talk to Uncle Sam. I'm ready to hit the road when you two are."

She left, mumbling to herself about dads who always say they're fine. Dad was never fine when he claimed to be fine. Rae found Uncle Sam talking to Gary's Uncle Mark in the living room. She didn't bother to wait and listen to what they were talking about, Rae just climbed into Uncle Sam's lap.

"You just kind of decide what role you want to have, what you need to be responsible for." Uncle Sam's arm wrapped around her. Rae rested her head on his chest, enjoying the sound of his voice vibrating against her ear. "Then you do it. The important part is to always show that they can depend on you."

"Uncle Sam?" she whispered, fingering a buttonhole in his shirt.

"How do I do that?" Uncle Mark asked.

"Well, you pay attention and you listen. Sometimes you have to listen to what they don't say as much as what they do say," he said.

"Uncle Sam?" Rae whispered, just a little louder.

"I don't get it," Uncle Mark said. "How can you listen to what they don't say?"

Uncle Sam cleared his throat. "Okay, take my brother for example. He can't admit when he's sick. Last time I knew he wasn't well Rae and I had to gang up on him in order to get him to let the doctors check him out. Right, Sunshine?" he asked, looking down at her.

Rae nodded eagerly. "When are we…"

"And he won't ask for anything for himself, either, so somebody has to notice when his clothes are getting too worn, stuff like that," Uncle Sam told him.

Rae rolled her eyes. "Uncle Sam?"

"But Carol doesn't need anyone to look after her. I just want to help out with Gary," Uncle Mark insisted.

Rae tugged gently on Uncle Sam's shirt.

"Of course she needs someone to look out for her," Uncle Sam said, pulling his shirt out of her hands. "Carol's probably like Dean, wouldn't admit she needed help for herself on her deathbed, which means you have to be sneaky about it."

"Yeah?" Uncle Mark sounded interested. "How can I be sneaky about it? I mean, it's not like I can go out and buy women's clothes for her and leave them on the doorstep."

"Uncle Sam?" she whispered again.

"Okay, bad example. For Carol, I think you ought to look for signs that she's had a bad day. On the bad work days, you provide dinner." Uncle Sam spread his hands, like that was totally simple.

"You mean…cook?" Uncle Mark frowned. "I don't cook. I can do frozen pizza, but that's about it."

Uncle Sam shrugged. Rae tried tugging on his shirt again. "So heat up a frozen pizza. Order take-out. Whatever. My point is," Uncle Sam tapped a finger on the arm of his chair, "even the little things you can do will make life easier for her and Gary."

Rae knocked her head against Uncle Sam's chest, repeatedly. Finally Uncle Sam looked down at her. "What?"

She moved her mouth, not actually talking. Uncle Sam leaned down where Rae could reach his ear to talk to him. "When are we leaving? I'm homesick."

"What about Dean?" Uncle Sam asked her. "Is he ready to leave too?"

Rae nodded. Uncle Sam looked up at the ceiling, drumming his fingers. "How about the day after tomorrow," he finally said, looking down at her. "Dean still seems pretty tired. I'd feel better if he had another day to rest up."

Rae reached up for his ear again. "Should I make Daddy take his medicine now?"

Uncle Sam tickled her stomach, making her squirm all around. "I think you just like making your dad do stuff, don't you?"

She squealed and squirmed until she managed to worm her way out of those freaky long arms of his. Rae gave him the 'I'm telling' look.

"Go ahead and tell on me," Uncle Sam called after her. "Tell Dean I dare him to come in here and get me for it!"

--

Rae and Gary sat upstairs in his room, playing another video game. This one had a purple dragon in it and a glowing thing that Dad kept saying was funny. Dad and Uncle Sam had been acting kind of funny all day. They kept coming in to check on her this afternoon, like every two seconds. That wasn't the funny part. It was the way they kept whispering stuff and not telling her why. Dad and Uncle Sam always told her why. Okay, not always, but usually. Well, usually she had to pretend to be asleep and she couldn't just crash in the middle of playing a video game to find out what they were up to. If only she were eight! Then they'd tell her.

"What's wrong?" Gary asked.

Rae growled. "They're up to something."

"Who?" Gary looked around. "Your dad and uncle?"

She nodded at him, glaring out the open door at Dad and Uncle Sam pretending not to whisper to each other.

"They're probably just getting ready to leave in the morning." Gary gave her a push in the arm. "You're worrying over nothing."

"Maybe." Rae glared at the smile Dad gave Uncle Sam. "But they definitely look like they're up to something."

"Probably not anything to worry about," Gary said as he played the game.

Rae shifted to look at the boy sitting next to her. What was that supposed to mean? "Do you know something?" she demanded. How could Stupid here know more than she did about Dad and Uncle Sam?

Gary shrugged, shoving the controller into her hands. "Your turn."

He hadn't lost a game all day. "My turn? Since when?"

Gary waved at the game. "Since I died. Just play the game."

Rae paused her turn. "You're trying to distract me, aren't you?" She glared at Gary. Did they honestly think such a stupid boy would be any good at this?

"No. It's just your turn. Play the game," Gary insisted, looking a little bit panicked.

Rae stood up, hands on hips. "Oh, that does it!" She stomped out of Gary's room to where Dad and Uncle Sam were standing. "What is it?" she demanded. "What are you two up to?"

Dad and Uncle Sam exchanged a puzzled look.

"Up to?" Dad asked, looking all sweet and innocent.

"What do you mean, Sunshine?" Uncle Sam asked with a smile.

"You two have been whispering all afternoon and I want to know why!" Rae stomped her foot to make her point. Actually, if this worked, she might give up on the pretending to sleep thing.

The smiles dropped from both their faces. Uh-oh.

"Uh, you want to try that again?" Dad asked and he did not sound happy at all.

Rae stared at Dad as she tried to figure out what would get her out of this. She smiled real big, batted her eyes at Dad. "Daddy? Why are you and Uncle Sam whispering? Can you pretty please tell me the secret?"

She watched that stern look on Dad's face melt away. "Uh, Sam? Caving here."

Uncle Sam jabbed Dad with his elbow. "Now, Sunshine, there's nothing to worry about, we promise." A wide grin spread across his face.

Rae frowned at him. "That's a suspicious smile, Uncle Sam."

Dad chuckled. "She's too smart for you, Sam."

Uncle Sam jabbed Dad again. Dad rubbed his ribs with one hand as he said, "Well, we might have a little surprise for you."

"Dean!" Uncle Sam hissed.

"What? You wanted to wait all frigging day?" Dad demanded.

"Surprise?" Rae gasped. "For me?" She bounced on her toes, so excited that she couldn't stay still. "What is it? What? What'd you get me?"

Uncle Sam rolled his eyes. "That's why I didn't want to tell her yet. We promised Bobby we'd wait for him." He waved both hands at her. "How the hell are we supposed to resist that?"

"Bobby's coming?" Rae squealed. "Is that my surprise?" she asked, looking from Dad to Uncle Sam and back.

"Uh…yeah. That's it." Dad grinned at her. "Bobby's coming. He should be here in," he checked his watch, "about half an hour."

Okay, was it her, or was Dad being suspicious now? That was a cool word, suspicious. "Really suspicious," she announced.

Uncle Sam chuckled. Dad stomped on his foot. Uncle Sam said some not-nice things under his breath as he hopped in a circle.

"You can watch for Bobby through Gary's window. It looks out over the street," Dad told her, giving her a shove back into Gary's room.

Rae walked across the room to the window. She rested her elbows on the window sill as she glared outside. "I think they're trying to keep me in here."

"Oh, come on." Gary stood beside her at the window. "Why would they do that?"

She cut her eyes at him. "I don't know, but I'm pretty sure that you do."

Gary looked shocked, but it was pretty fakey. "Me? What would I know?"

She scowled out the window. Okay, what did Uncle Sam always say to do when you wanted to figure something out? She needed to make a list. "You're losing video games I know you can win so I get a turn. You're keeping me busy. Dad and Uncle Sam are standing watch outside your door to make sure I don't go downstairs. Bobby is coming."

A glimmer of an idea sprang up, then faded away. "I got nothing. So, do you want to tell me or do I have to beat it out of you?"

"Wh-what?" Gary asked, his eyes really round.

Rae shrugged. "When Dad says that it works for him. Thought I'd give it a shot."

Gary laughed at her. "Well, you're not nearly as scary as your dad," he said under his breath.

"Seriously?" Rae asked. "You're scared of Dad? My dad?"

Gary glanced around to make sure no one was watching them before nodding.

"Dad!" Rae spun around. "Gary's scared of you!"

Dad didn't bother to look at them. "Good," he called out, his attention still on Uncle Sam. Dad nodded to something Uncle Sam said.

Rae thought about that while she watched cars passing on the street below. "You're not scared of your uncle, are you?"

"Uncle Mark?" Gary chuckled. "Nah. Uncle Mark is great. He's moving into the room next to me." He rubbed his hands together. "We're going to be able to play video games and football, all the time. He said so."

"You know you gotta look after uncles too, right?" Rae asked, figuring that Gary didn't have a clue.

"Look after uncles?" Gary asked. He leaned on the windowsill next to her. "How do you look after your uncle?"

Rae rolled her eyes. That figured. She dropped her voice so Dad and Uncle Sam couldn't listen in. "Sometimes Uncle Sam starts feeling left out, like he's not part of the family. Then I have to tickle him, or challenge him to a joke contest, or do something so he knows we need him."

"Yeah?" Gary moved closer. "What kind of things work best?"

Rae shrugged. "Dad says Uncle Sam is weird, so what works with him might not work with Uncle Mark."

Gary nudged her in the shoulder. "Come on. Give."

Rae eyed him thoughtfully. "I tell you something, you tell me something. Deal?"

"What kind of something?" Gary asked, glancing over at the doorway.

"In a minute. First, when Uncle Sam seems to be feeling left out, I ask him for help on my schoolwork," Rae explained, using easy words so he could keep up.

"Schoolwork?" Gary chewed on his lower lip. "So I should ask Uncle Mark to help me with my homework, huh? That'll make him feel better?"

Rae nodded. "So what's my real surprise?" she asked.

Gary's whole body tensed. Yeah, she figured it wasn't Bobby coming.

"Never mind," Rae said, waving a hand like it wasn't a big deal that he didn't tell her. "Okay, the next thing I like to do is find ways to play with Uncle Sam. Sometimes he tries to play with me, like coloring in my activity books or watching cartoons with me. But I like to find things Uncle Sam likes to do, too. He likes math games." Rae rolled her eyes. "Sometimes I actually suggest we play those. You should see his whole face light up."

Gary chuckled at her. "Seriously? Math games? Well, Uncle Mark likes football and watching sports on tv. I don't know what his favorite sport is, though."

"You should find out. Is Bobby bringing my surprise?" she asked, hoping to slip that question in fast enough that Gary would answer without noticing.

"What surprise?" he asked, acting innocent. "So how should I find out which sports he likes? Just ask him?"

"Asking works." Rae rolled her eyes, muttering, "sometimes."

"Can I ask you something?" Gary asked, turning to really look at her. Rae shrugged. "Mom said your dad adopted you. Is that true?"

She nodded.

"So you've really already done all this, with your dad and uncle, right?" Gary leaned real close now, like if he got closer he could tell if she was lying. If she wanted to lie to him, he'd never know it.

"Yeah. So?" Rae glared at him. What was that supposed to mean?

"Just wanted to know I was getting advice from an expert, that's all." Gary smiled at her. "Relax. You'll get your surprise when Mister Singer gets here," he whispered.

"Is it a good one?" she whispered back.

Gary winked. Hot dog! Oh! Was it a puppy? Or a kitty? Rae didn't think she'd be able to wait until Bobby got here. Maybe it would be a good book for storytime or one of those awesome huge crayon sets! What was keeping that man?

--

Bobby pulled up to the small inner city house. It looked like a lower to mid income neighborhood. The street had too much traffic for kids to play in it, but there were plenty playing in the yards. Decent neighborhood to raise kids in, Bobby thought.

He stepped out of his truck with a package in one hand. His package had pink and purple curled ribbons hanging off of it and was wrapped with some disgustingly cute unicorn wrapping paper. He hoped Rae would like it, especially considering the way the salesclerk kept giving him funny looks when he picked it out. Not that he really cared, one way or the other, because it was for Rae.

"Bobby!" he heard a girl scream. He looked up to see Rae waving at him from an upstairs window. Bobby grinned and waved back.

"He's here! He's here!" He could hear Rae's shouts from the front yard.

Bobby waited at the front door, not bothering to knock. If the racket behind the door was anything to go by, he wouldn't have to knock. The front door was yanked open by both kids, wrestling with each other over who got to open it. Bobby grinned at the sight. Gary and Rae reminded him a little of Dean and Sam when they were kids. It was nice to see her acting more like an average kid.

Rae bounced inside the doorway, glancing repeatedly over her shoulder at Dean as he approached the door.

"You gonna give him a hug or what?" Dean asked, grinning.

Rae shrugged as she bounced, like she didn't know what to do.

"Go on. He won't bite." Dean gave her a shove in the back.

Bobby stood perfectly still as Rae gently put her arms around him, like he might break. He patted her back gently, amazed she was even standing this close much less almost-hugging him.

"I didn't miss the party, did I?" he asked as Rae pulled away.

"Party?" Rae asked. She spun around. "Party?" she asked again, this time in a high pitched squeal that made Dean wince.

Dean waved him inside. "Hey, Bobby. We, uh, hadn't mentioned the party yet."

Bobby beamed at Rae. "Guess that means I didn't miss it."

Rae stared at the package he held. Bobby waved it slowly in front of her. "So, Dean, when do we do presents?" Her eyes followed it.

"God, you just don't change, do you?" Sam said with a laugh. "Rae, Bobby used to do that to us when we were kids too." Sam stood watching as Rae's gaze was riveted to the gently swaying box. "I guess kids don't change either."

Dean laughed at him. "I remember when you used to do that, Sam."

Dean swept Rae up into his arms with a "Come on, you." She started squirming, reaching for her present. Dean threw the girl over his shoulder, heading out of the room. Stomach bouncing gently on Dean's shoulder, Rae kept reaching for the present Bobby held. With a chuckle, Bobby put it in her hands. Her whole face lit up as her hands grasped the package.

He followed them into the dining room, which was decorated for a kid's birthday party. Brightly colored paper covered the table and a 'Happy Birthday' banner hung from the wall. A cake rested in the middle of the table with pink frosting that said 'Sammie Rae.' Carol, Gary and some man with dark hair followed them.

"Here we go, kiddo," Dean announced as he swung her off his shoulder and into a chair at the table closest to the cake.

Rae frowned at the cake. "It's not my birthday," she whispered.

A pained look came over Dean's face. He knelt down beside her. "Yeah, I know. We had plans for a big party to celebrate your adoption in a couple of weeks, but since we were here and you had a friend to invite…" He shrugged at her.

Her face lit up again. She threw her arms around Dean's neck, hugging him tight. "I knew you wouldn't forget!" Then she pulled back, looking at him suspiciously. "Uncle Sam reminded you, didn't he?"

Dean's mouth dropped open. "No!"

Rae rolled her eyes, holding out her arms towards Sam. Sam got his hug, turning a smug look on his brother which earned him a pop in the arm. Yep, Bobby didn't blame Dean a bit for that one.

There was cake and ice cream. Rae really liked his present, the biggest damn box of crayons he could find. She said it was the second biggest box she'd ever seen in her life. He wondered where she saw the biggest box. If the kid insisted on decorating those boring hospital walls, she was going to need more crayons while traveling with the Winchesters.

Sam gave her a book that he promised to read to her in the car, something about a house in the woods, and Dean gave her some sparkly pink shirt which she rushed to the bathroom to change into.

"I can't believe you bought that," Bobby told Dean. "I mean, it doesn't have a rock band on it or a car."

"When did you buy that?" Sam demanded. "You haven't exactly had time lately."

Dean shrugged, turning to look out the doorway like Rae might appear and save him from having to answer these embarrassing questions.

"Let me guess," Bobby said in a low voice. "You bought it weeks ago for her birthday, before you realized that you missed it."

Dean's face took on a pained expression.

"You missed her birthday?" Carol asked, breaking into the conversation. "How could you miss her birthday?"

Sam cleared his throat nervously. "We, uh, confused it with her adoption." His cheeks flushed pink, nearly matching Rae's new shirt. "But I'm still trying to imagine Dean walking into a store and buying that thing."

Carol laughed. "Oh, thank God! And here I've been, thinking what a lousy parent I was in comparison with two men!" She laughed again, leaning back in her chair.

Bobby watched as Sam and Dean exchanged a confused and embarrassed look.

"Do we need to worry about that?" Dean asked Sam.

Sam shook his head. "I won't if you won't."

Dean nodded. "Deal." He cleared his throat, addressing the table again. "Well, we're planning to head out in the morning. Need anything before we go?"

Carol looked at Mark, jerked her head in the boys' direction.

Mark shrugged. "Only if you're volunteering to help me move some of my stuff."

Sam's eyes lit up. "You're moving in? About time."

Mark shrugged again. "Hey, we can't all be super-uncles like you."

"He's the mom," Dean said quickly, which was followed instantly by a whoosh of expelled air. Bobby chuckled to himself, knowing that Sam must have delivered a whale of a kick under the table.

"So," Sam said loudly, shifting to cover Dean's pained expression with his body, "have you contacted an attorney yet? For the restraining order?"

"Mark has." Carol stood, started to clear away the paper plates from the party. "The lawyer says I have a good case and we might be able to get one by the end of next week."

Sam stood too, picking up the cake. "If you don't want this, throw it out. It's not like we can take it on the road." He kicked Dean's chair. Dean grumbled a little, but he helped clean up the party stuff.

Bobby felt a tug on his jeans pocket. He turned around to look into Rae's deep brown eyes. "Yeah?"

She grinned, twirling around to show off her new sparkly pink shirt.

Bobby chuckled at her delighted face. "Looks like your daddy knows you pretty good, don't it?"

--

Dean sat in a lawn chair in the back yard beside Bobby. Sam was doing some crap in the kitchen with Carol. He wondered if little brother had a little crush going on there. The kids played tag around the huge tree in the middle of Carol's yard.

"What's the news?" he asked now that they were safely out of earshot of the kids.

Bobby grunted. "Not good." He let out a long sigh. "The state has 'em all in the hospital still, psychiatric evaluation and the like. Some of 'em still have a parent out there somewhere, but the social workers are scrambling to find relatives to place 'em with." He shook his head sadly. "The whole time I was there, I just kept wondering what woulda happened to Rae if you hadn't taken her."

Dean shrugged, eyes darting across the yard to follow the kids. Rae was damned fast, Gary didn't have a prayer of catching her. "She would've been fine," he insisted, not wanting to consider any possible alternative.

He caught Bobby staring at him. "What?"

Bobby continued to stare as he spoke. "You just don't like to give yourself any credit, do you?"

"What do you mean?" Dean took a long pull on his beer. Now that he had finally finished up his antibiotics, Sam had graciously allowed beer in the house.

Bobby leaned forward, his eyes intense. "Do you honestly think that child would be speaking now if it weren't for you? I mean, she actually gave me a hug!" Bobby threw his hands up. "I'd call that a freaking miracle."

"Kids are tougher than we give them credit for, Bobby," Dean argued. "I don't think I've done all that much for her."

"In general?" Bobby asked. "Or you don't think you've done more for her than she's done for you?"

Dean shrugged again, unsure how to respond to that. "Does it matter?"

Bobby scratched his jaw, eyes shifting back to the kids racing through the yard. "Nah. Probably not."

Sam came out with a few fresh beers and another lawn chair. He set up on Dean's other side.

"So where are we headed tomorrow?" he asked his brother.

"I've been thinking about that. How about Florida?" Sam suggested.

Dean peered suspiciously at his brother. "Florida? What's happening in Florida?"

"Nothing," Sam and Bobby replied together.

"So why are we going?" Dean popped the top off his fresh beer.

"Well, I've been thinking," Sam began. That usually spelled trouble. "We've been really busy lately, and this last hunt was pretty intense. I think we deserve a vacation. Sun. Beach."

Dean's eyes lit up. "Girls in skimpy bikinis. Sometimes I like the way you think, Sammy."

Sam rewarded him with a broad grin. Rae's laughter reached him, allowed that part of him that constantly worried to relax some. She was happy. Sam was happy. That was what really mattered.


End file.
